Gallagher Girls: Next Generation
by Windy D
Summary: Cammie's daughter Evelyn Goode is a sophomore at Gallagher Academy, if there's anything she's learned from her mother's life it's that spies and civilians don't mix. So, what happens when she starts reliving her mothers mistakes... or is she?
1. Gallagher Girls: Next Generation

To a normal fifteen year old girl keeping a journal would be no crime. But to me, Evelyn Goode daughter of the legendary Cameron Morgan-Goode it's basically the next best thing to a crime. If this journal gets out to anybody with lower than level three clearance, I'm dead. Not grounded or in a lot of trouble, no, I'm literally dead. Someone will hunt me down and kill me. But I've got to write down everything that happened this semester while it's still fresh in my mind. Maybe someday it'll be a gift to my children, or grandchildren or something sweet and sappy like that.

Like all good stories I suppose I should start at the beginning. Here goes...

"Don't get into too much trouble." I rolled my eyes as my mom gave me a super embarrassing hug outside the mansion that I'd learn to call my second home. "I'll try my best, but no promises." I said squirming out of her iron embrace. Dad kissed my forehead as he always did when he said goodbye, "I don't want to receive any letters from your grandma this year." I laughed, "Come on guys, it sounds like you don't want me having _any_ fun at all this year." Both my parents chuckled with me, they knew that sometimes rule breaking was just a part of being a spy, and besides I usually never got into any serious trouble... usually.

"Seriously, though, write often won't you, Ev?" My mom called after me as began to walk up the steps of my school. (valet would be taking my bags) "I will!" I called back waving as both my parents slipped back into the limo that had brought us there.

I walked into the main entrance of Gallagher Mansion, it was filled with girls of all ages chattering about their summers. I'd personally had a super grueling summer spent conditioning with my dad while my mom was on some top secret mission. When mom's gone dad likes to work out, and I don't mean normal pumping iron sort of working out. When we work out we typically do it while dodging lasers. The sad thing is we do it by choice. Sometimes I wonder if in order to be a spy there has to be a little something seriously wrong with your self preservation instincts.

I didn't stay to chat. Instead I went straight upstairs to the West Wing where the girls' suites were located. It took my three minutes and forty seven seconds to get there. (When you're a Gallagher Girl, you basically have an internal chronometer) I opened the door knocking on the frame as I walked in. Before I could even see who it was someone wrapped their arms around me yelling, "EVALYYYN!" I laughed and hugged back my friend, "Missed you to Joe." I said holding her at arms length. Jolene McKinnon took after her father with red hair and freckles, unfortunately her mother had to divorce him shortly after Joe's birth because he just couldn't adjust to his wife's spy life.

I always thought Joe should have been a model. The girl was at least five nine as thin as a rail and had the most bewitching smile. Even though she didn't have hair or eyes like her mother she still resembled Aunt Macey. I think it had something to do with attitude. Joe is basically the

"Boo!" Somebody had crept up behind me and pinched my sides. I jumped up and turned around. "BRY!" Bryony Newman was the daughter of the infamous Bex Baxter and apparently bad-assness is a dominant gene in the Baxter family. The funny thing was unlike her mother father and grandparents Bry wasn't over five eleven. She was a solid five feet and three inches. Not extremely short, but when she lines up for the family photo... they usually end up putting her on a stool. But her height definitely comes to an advantage in the field. Have you seen that girl do acrobatics? She makes professional gymnasts look like newbs,

After hugs were exchange all around we all started talking at once about our summers. Joe our resident hacker had managed after almost two months to hack into the top secret files of Blackthorne (She's that good) just to see what our brothers over there were up to. We'd all been kind of disappointed with the information because they were basically doing the same things we were doing. From what she could tell there were no plans of merging the two schools anytime soon. The reason we were so obsessed with Blackthorne was because the odds were in our favor to eventually marry and live happily ever after with a Blackthorne boy. Both Bry's and my mom had? And plenty of girls at Gallagher's dads were created at Blackthorne.

Bry had helped her parents on a mission to guard an Indian princess. And I told my boring tale of how my summer vacation was basically just a week and a half doing stuff with my mom and then the rest of the time was spent working out with my dad until mom came home about three days before the start of school.

Finally with a mysterious grin Bry asked what we all really wanted to talk about, "Are you guys ready for Cov. Ops?" I was glad Bry had said it her British accent really made things sound at least seventy two percent cooler. "OhmygodYES!" I said running my hands through my hair. We were finally going to do Cov. Ops! It was basically every spy's dream. We were going to get to go into the town Roseville Virginia _finally_. Do spy stuff, meet people (boys people) and well... Do spy stuff!

Joe gave Bry and I a really significant look, "Guys. This is the year that we stop being girls at a boarding school, and start being spys." I couldn't help but grin. She was totally right.


	2. A Chance Encounter

**Second chapter is here! 3 Hope you guys like it!

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"Today, ladies, we're going to go on something like an Observational Scavenger hunt." Bry and I looked at each other with excited grins that meant, _He's going to let us go out to town_. We'd been at school for over a week and we still hadn't seen any real action.

Solomon continued talking, "You know for this past week I've been grilling you on your observation skills. I thought it'd be fun we played a little game. Only in this scavenger hunt you're not sure what you're looking for" I noticed out of the corner of my eye that Joe's leg bouncing underneath her desk. "Here's how it works, you girls go out into the town in parties of one. You're objective it to notice everything and anything. You'll have exactly one hour. After that we'll come back here and I'll give you a test on what you may or may not have observed. Outside there will be a van waiting to take you downtown, have fun ladies. I won't be coming with you. You're hour starts the second you step out of the van. Hop to it ladies." I don't know how but Uncle Solomon managed to make the most annoying saying int he world sound like spy slang.

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The van stopped at the town square right in front of this vintage looking gazebo. Bry who was always on top of things opened the door right away and hoped out, "See ya." She said with a quick wink, and within about ten seconds my friend was out of site. I took a little more time. I wanted to take everything in this mission was about details, wasn't it? I started to walk down the sidewalk. There weren't many people about, the town felt pretty stale... too stale. No. I was being paranoid.

I took in the obvious first. Oak t_ree seven feet north of the Gazebo. Park bench eight inches in front of the path twelve feet down the path. _These were all approximations of course. After taking in all the visual facts I started looking taking in the people. _Two old men playing chess. _I memorized the quickest way for the man in the red hat to beat the man wearing green loafers. _A woman running with a stroller. _She was going about a five milers per hour pace. _A boy with crutches and broken leg sitting in the park bench... _That was weird. It was still school hours and he was definitely around my own age. I was looking at him through the reflection of a parked car. I turned around casually like I might have been checking him out. By the time my eyes fell on him he was looking away like he hadn't even noticed me. He lifted his hand and touched his ear lightly like he was using an ear piece...

_Bingo_. I knew it! Mom had been talking about Blackthorne an awful lot lately. Joe's information must have been wrong. Everything made sense now, no wonder Uncle Solomon had been so mysterious. I turned around and walked straight towards the boy. I was about twelve feet away from him when he "noticed" I was walking towards him. Ha! Nice acting, but his cover was about to be busted. He gave me an uncertain smile like _What is the girl in a fancy uniform doing walking straight at me._ Kind of smile.

"Are you Blackthorne?" I asked fiercely putting both my hands on my hips. The boy blinked twice the smile wiped from his face. At first I'd thought I'd blown his cover. The boy scratched the back of his head obviously confused, "I...don't think so..." He said slowly. He then chuckled lightly, "It might help if I knew who or what Blackthorne is... I'm confused."

I'm just going to tell you now; I've never been more embarrassed. But luckily for me I'm a spy, "Wow, this is super embarrassing. You see, this duche who said his name was Nick Blackthorne was making fun of my friend. Besides the leg and all you look just like she described." I allowed myself to blush all the way to my ears.

I've told you that Bry is an acrobatic ninja, Joe's a computer Genius, but I haven't exactly told you my forte in the spy world. When I graduate from school I'm going into undercover work. You see, I'm a liar. I know, all spys specialize in lying, but I do more than that. I look at a person, see there clothes, the way they walk, the way they talk, I can make a Psychological Profile of them, and I can create a the perfect lie for them. I can be the person that they're going to trust, love hate, be intrigued by. I have a gift with people my dad says. I know what they want, the more information I get from someone the better lie (or legend) I can create.

From the amount of scars (and broken leg) on this guy he was either extremely clumsy or a dare devil. And from the way he sat leaned back with his arm on the park bench and the way his clear blue eyes didn't break contact in mine, he was confident, and didn't seem like the clumsy type. So I had to go with dare devil. So I became a sweet honest strong willed girl who'd do anything for her friends.

The boy tilted his head back and laughed, "I'd hate to be this Blackthorne dude when you find him. I'm Stenton by the way." He held out his hand I shook it, he had a firm handshake. "I'm Evelyn." There was no need to hide my real name, in my experience the more truth you put into a legend the better it'll be, "What happened to your leg?" I asked honestly just curious. He chuckled again. _Mental Note:_ Stenton Last-name-unknown has a nice laugh. "It's kind of embarrassing actually. I was trying to do a back flip off a wall... and I slipped." Kind of embarrassing? Try, kind of hot! I'd totally been right about the dare devil thing, and you've got to admit the sexy dare devil look is like super sexy and badass.

"Ouch." I said there was a lull in the conversation, but between two adolescents lolls were usually to be expected. After five seconds I asked, "If you don't mind me asking, why aren't you in school." Stenton blushed slightly. "You ask a lot of questions Evelyn." _Mental Note: I like the way my name sounds coming from his voice._ "Sorry, I'm an inquisitive girl." He moved his crutches off the park bench and asked, "Want to sit down?" Without thinking I answered, "Sure." and sat next to him. I took that moment to glance into his ear, there was no coms unit. It appeared that Stenton was just a normal boy.

"I'm ditching school. I just moved hear with my dad, and to be honest I don't have a lot of friends yet, and I hate being cooped up, you know?" I nodded even though I didn't really know. He continued before I could say something, "I told you my story, you tell me yours. Why aren't you in school? You go to that fancy school over there don't you? He said waving his hand in the direction of the Gallagher Mansion. You could see it a little grey building in the distance. I smiled, "Yeah. You'll learn that we Gallagher Girls aren't exactly popular around town." Stenton grinned mischievously, "I already have, but you're not rich snob are you, Evelyn?" I liked how he kept on saying my name , "Well not _always_ a rich snob." I said joining in on the joke, "Sophomors got out of school early today one of the girl's grandmother is the headmistress and she begged to let us go into town for an hour."

"So you walked by yourself."

"I like walking."

We were quiet again. Stenton asked, "What's your last name, Evelyn?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"Because I want to call you by it."

"What's _your last name?"_

"West." _Mental Note: _Stenton West is a boss name.

"Mine's Goode." Again, I didn't have a reason to lie to him.

"Evelyn Goode." He said as if he was trying on my name like a new pair of shoes. "You're an interesting girl, Evelyn Goode." I laughed, "You're an interesting boy, Stenton West." Stenton tilted his head as if he were saying _What can I say?_ Then he turned to me with his eyes twinkling. "We should go be interesting together some time." Was he asking me out? It took all my spy training to keep my composure. "Maybe we will." Then it dawned on me that I had completely lost track of time. I was on a mission. I stood up suddenly, "Where you going?" Stenton asked obviously displeased that I had suddenly made a move to leave. "I've just remembered I've got to do something." I said hastily. I know in that moment I totally failed as a spy, but for a girl I think I did pretty well.

"Will I see you again soon?"

"Maybe. I'll be around."

"Okay, goodbye Evelyn Goode."

I laughed, "Goodbye, Stenton." I walked away leaving him behind me trying to grab as much information as I could as a realized I had about fifteen minutes left. Needless to say. I completely failed that days Cov. Op test, but I met the sexiest, cleverest, funniest, most mysterious, guy in the world. I think it was a pretty fair trade.

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**Please review! I'd love to know what you guys think. **

**XOXO Windy**


	3. Stenton West: Yay or Nay?

**Here's chapter three! Took longer than I expected, but here it is.**

**Enjoy ;]**

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"_We should go be interesting together_! Ev, that's huge!"

Bry exclaimed as I had just finished telling my two best friends the whole Stenton story. Joe was setting Indian style on her bed. And Bry was doing the splits four feet off the ground in the doorway of our closet. I shrugged not knowing exactly what to say. Bry gracefully descended from her acrobatic pose and plopped down on the floor in front of me, "Except for the fact that, you sort of gave away the _top secret _name of a level four clearance facility, but besides that, it's huge." I rolled my eyes, "I said it was someone's name, and that's true... for somebody in the world... named Nick Blackthorne." I said feebly trying to defend myself. Joe frowned, "But you still should be careful, you never know whose listening." Bry laughed, "Don't be paranoid, Joe, I highly doubt that Stenton is going to even give it a second thought." Joe shrugged and said nothing. Joe wasn't a huge fan of romance, maybe it had something to do with her mom who's had about ten boyfriends sense her dad and none of them have worked out, or maybe she's just one of those girls who's a natural feminist. The girl's got a lot of guards.

"Tell us the details." Bry ordered grabbing a pillow from the base of Joe's bed and hugging it like a teddy bear. I blushed slightly, "There's not much to tell." Bry rolled her eyes, "Ev, there's always much to tell, spill." A shifted my weight. For some reason I never like talking about boys when it concerned me. Bry had had plenty of boyfriends back in England and I loved talking about her many suitors, Joe and I often ranted about how confusing they were, but when it came to talking about possible prospects for me... I always became a lost for words, "What do you guys want to know?" I asked not sure where to start, "What does he look like?" prompted Joe who was now getting more into it. I shrugged still feeling tongue tied.

"Tall?" Asked Bry eagerly.

"Buff?" Joe suggested.

"Sexy." Bry said seductively

"Smart?"

"Sweet?"

"Funny?"

"Ugly!" Joe finally asked when I never answered any of their questions. "No!" I said quickly. Stenton was definitely _not_ ugly. "Okay." Bry said slowly. "We'll start from ground zero. You're a spy, Evelyn, as a _spy_ tell us what his hair is like." Thank God for Bryony Newman, she knew exactly how to pull me out of my shell. "Alright." I said thinking, "Hair: Light brown, almost blonde, messy-in a good way- medium length. It looks like he runs his hands through his hair a lot." Joe and Bry shared an approving look, "Physique." Bry said naming my next category. "He was sitting but from the looks of it, about five ten-five eleven, hot arms" (I said hot arms without thinking, I was getting out of my spy mode and into my girl mode) "Probably skateboards, he's an extreme sports kind of guy, you know?"

"Does he have a good face?" Asked Bry as if she were too impatient to wait, "Definitely." I answered immediately, "Pretty white teeth... really super adorable smile... and the really light deep blue eyes..." Joe had pulled her laptop from underneath her bed and was now typing rapidly on it, "What are you doing?" I asked, "I'm getting dirt on Stenton West." Within seconds Bry Joe and I were huddled on Joe's bed behind her mac.

We learned the following information about Stenton West from, facebook, myspace, and google:

My assumptions had been right he skateboarded, and was apparently really good at it; he also swam for his old school. Before he moved to Roseville he lived in Santa Barbara where he lived with his mother (his parents were divorced) did all these extreme sports. His mother was a fashion magazine editor and got offered a job in Paris so she packed up and left her son with her father who lived a bachelor in Virginia. But besides that trivial information there really was nothing much to find about him. He was a sophomore and Roseville High, but not involved in any school activities.

"So when do you see him again?" Bry asked rolling off Joe's bed tired of looking at facebook pictures of Stenton. "Never." I answered simply trying to look as nonchalant as possible. Bry snorted and even Joe looked doubtful. "Come on guys, we all know what happened with my mom and Josh." The Josh story was one of my moms favorite story to tell, when we were little the three of us used to love listening to it but now we could basically all recite it along with her. Moral of the story, spies and non-spies rarely make good couples.

"It doesn't have to be like that! For one Stenton already knows you go to Galligher, and that was a huge factor with your mom and Josh." I still shook my head, "It's a recipe for disaster." Joe closed her laptop, "I think Evelyn's right. I mean, she's a spy, he's a civilian, and sooner or later they're going to have problems." I looked at Joe, even though technically she was agreeing with what I had just said, for some reason I didn't like hearing it. Like maybe I secretly wanted my friends to convince me into seeing Stenton again.

I stood up and picked up my French Etiquette Book, "If I see him, I see him. If I don't, I don't. Let's study girls." I didn't want to think of any more Stenton West. Over the top of my French book I spotted Bry give Joe a significant look. I had a feeling that Bry Newman wasn't going to give in that easy.

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**Please, review I love to know what you think!**

**XOXO Windy**


	4. Giving Up On Resisting

**Wow... It's been forever. I actually had most of this written up for a long time, but life's been busy. So now I'm Finally uploading it. =] I hope you enjoy it.**

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"Free day!" Bry sang doing a back walkover down the sidewalk of the main town square. "Bry, normal people can't do gymnastics." Joe said rolling her eyes pulling a lock of red hair out of her face. Bry laughed, "Maybe I'm a dancer. It's just a walk over Joe, live a little. It's our day off. Where to Ev?" Out of the corner of my eye I spotted the park bench where Stenton and I had talked. He'd probably forgotten about me by now. "Ev? Earth to Evelyn Goode?" Bry said when I didn't reply to her. I looked at her blankly, "Oh sorry... Um...we could see a movie."

"We could go stalk a certain Mr. Stenton West." Bry suggested slyly. I rolled my eyes, "Yeah, let's just go over to his house, nothing suspicious there." I said sarcastically. "Or you could just walk up to him." Joe said as casually as she would have said, y_our shoe's untied, _or _let's go get icecream_. I looked up to where she was pointing, and there _he_ was. He'd already caught sight of us and was walking (well technically limping, he was still in crutches). However, I noticed a change; his cast was littered with signatures and notes.

Bry gave me an encouraging nudge, "Well, Joe and I are going to make ourselves scarce, have fun!" She said with a small giggle dragging Joe away who looked over her shoulder and gave me an uncertain glance before they jay walked across the street, and disappeared into a small boutique where I knew they'd be watching. Could they have set this up? I had no idea how... no it had to be a coincidence. The two of them must have simply seen him before I had, they were capable of knowing his walking schedule, surely.

"Evelyn Goode." Stenton said once he was close enough to talk to me. I found myself smiling. Why is it that whenever you talk to a hot guy, you end up smiling? It's like a genetic response or something. "Hi, stranger." I said casually placing my hands into the pockets of my cardigan. "You don't have a facebook." He stated. He'd looked me up? I know, I promised myself that I wouldn't be into him, but he was hinting so much that he was into me. And when a guy is interested in you (a hot guy at that) it's so hard not to be interested back.

"No. I don't really have time for one." I told the truth. "Can I have your phone number?" He asked casually, that made me a little disappointed. He was obviously used to asking girls for their numbers. "No, I don't have a phone." I lied, and the highly trained spy in me forced myself blush, a normal teenager would have been embarrassed by not having a phone. "Are you shitting me? –Sorry." Stenton apologized for swearing.

I think that was the moment I gave up on trying not to like him. Sure I'd only met him twice, but he was... well... Stenton West. And the way he said he was sorry as he scratched the back of his head with that sheepish grin... well, you had to be there. How many guys have you ever heard of apologizing for language? And something as common as _are you shitting me?_ He definitely wasn't your average dare devil. So what if I barely knew him? I knew him, and that was something, going to Gallagher I definitely don't get a lot of chances to talk to guys, and with those slim chances who'd think I'd get as lucky as to encounter a guy like Stenton.

"Don't be sorry." I said quickly, "And, yeah, my dad's really protective of me. He thinks people might try to get in touch with me to get to him." Now that was the truth, I did own a cell phone but it was a spies only cell phone. Neither of my parents really trust civilians. So what I had said was partially true. Stenton laughed, "What does your dad do?" He asked. _Save the world on a daily basis_ I wanted to answer. But instead I lied, "He owns Cheerios." I said smiling. And if you google it, Zachery Goode, did own Cheerios. It was my families cover. Every Galligher Girl's family has a cover for times when civilians just might go in for more information. I was glad my parents and drilled me on it repeatedly when I had entered the fifth grade and begin to go to Gallagher.

"No way." Stenton laughed. I shrugged, "Yeah, I think it's a stupid thing to get rich on. My friend Bry's father is an Astrophysicist, that's something to get rich off of." Stenton nodded absently, "If you don't mind me asking... why boarding school?" The spy in me began to work again. Stenton wanted to know why my parents had gotten rid of me. In other words he wanted to know if my parents had abandoned me in a similar way that his mother had abandoned him. Part of me wanted to tell him the truth and say that my parents loved me, but Gallagher Academy was the best place for me to learn. But the expert actress/spy I am wouldn't allow me to.

I allowed my self to look bitter, "I dunno. I guess my parents are too busy to be... well, to be parents... so boarding school is the most _convenient_ place for me." The way that Stenton looked at me killed me. He had this sort of "_I've found a kindred spirit"_ look in his eyes. I wanted to shoot myself in the foot. I didn't have to tell that lie, I knew I didn't have to tell it and it wouldn't have made that much of a difference. But the spy in me knew the quickest way to get close to him and instinct sort of took over.

Stenton gave me the most adorable significant look, "I know exactly how you feel." I averted my gaze not wanting to look into his eyes, "What do your parents do?" I asked changing the conversation to him so I wouldn't be tempted to lie. Stenton shrugged, "He's a Math Teacher, not exactly a big business man. My mom –well my parents are divorced-" I'd figured that was coming, "Oh, sorry." I said politely, but not awkwardly. Stenton shrugged, "Yeah... but anyways, my mom is a Fashion Magazine Editor, and she just got this new job in France, I forget the name of the magazine but, it's good for her. I used to live with her, but I couldn't go with her, so I'm here with my dad... But I'm glad now." Stenton gave me another big significant look.

We stood there and simply smiled at each other for a few seconds. Then Stenton broke the silence, "So... No Facebook, No Myspace, No cellphone... do you have an email?" I grinned, "That I do have." I said glad he was so persistent in finding a way to talk to me other than random run-ins. I pulled out a piece of paper from my bag and quickly wrote it down, "Here you are." I said handing it to him. Stenton put it in his pocket, "I was afraid I wouldn't see you again." I gave him a slightly surprised look, "Afraid, what do you mean?"

"You know. I thought you might be one of those girls, who I'd meet once then never meet. I'd always wonder what would have happened if I had asked for her number, or if I had asked her out right away."

"You're sweet, Stenton."

"It's a gift."

"Way to ruin the vibe." We laughed. I liked talking to Stenton, it was just so easy. His phone wrong interrupting us, he sighed and picked it up, "Hey... With a friend... But—Fine whatever." Stenton hung up. I gave him an expectant look, "That was my dad. He was gone when I woke up so I just left for a walk; apparently he didn't like that very much. I've got to go; I think I might be grounded he's annoying strict, opposite of my mom. I'll see you later, Evelyn Goode." It seemed like he really needed to run so I didn't comment on the annoyingness of his dad, "Too bad, see ya, Stenton." He winked at me and started walking in the opposite direction. It took all my will power not to follow him home. I almost did, but then I realized that there was a fine line between spy and stalker, and following him was definitely crossing it.

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**And that's the end of chapter four! Please review.**

**XOXO Windy**


	5. Set a Date

**Sorry this Chapter's a little short! (And it took me forever and a day to get it out) But I promise, the next ones gunna be great! Hope you like it. R&R please!**

**xoxo Windy D**

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_Evelyn Goode,_

_i like typing ur name almost as much as i like saying it. ;] when do i see you again? maybe we can get a bite to eat or see a movie? _

_btw i didn't get grounded just yelled at, apparently i could have been kidnapped. ;]_

_-stent_

Thirty-five words, one hundred thirty eight letters. I'd read it exactly twenty three times, and I could only come up with one conclusion: No matter the consequences, no matter how bad it might look on my professional record if anyone would find out, no matter how many times my mother had warned me not to get involved with civilians. I was going to meet Stenton West again.

"Watcha looking at?" Bry swooped down and picked my laptop off my lap. "Bryony Newman! Give it back!" I exclaimed sounding more like my mother than I'd like to admit. Bry laughed and danced around the room reading my email, "He likes you! My best friend is about to have her first real boyfriend!" Bry sat on her bed facing me, "What did you reply?" She asked getting suddenly business like.

"He just wants to hang out, it's not like he's proposing marriage or anything." I said yanking my mac out off her lap, "I haven't replied yet." I said looking back down at the open yahoo page. Bry nodded understanding my predicament. She moved over to my bed and sat next to me to get a better look at the screen, "He didn't misspell anything. That's a good sign." Bry said, I nodded "But no capitalization, and look how he spelled _your_." I pointed out. Not using proper grammar was one of my pet peeves. Bry rolled her eyes, "Come on, Ev, he's a _guy_! You can't really expect that much when it comes to the written word."

Joe came through the door and threw her bookbag onto her bed, "Bry, I'm pretty sure that bruise you gave me in P&E is turning green." She whined looking at her bare arm. Bry rolled her eyes, "Baby. We've got more important things to worry about, Ev's got a boyfriend... almost." Joe raised an eyebrow but hid her surprise behind a mask of contempt and sarcasm, "Lucky her." She said dragging a book out of her bag. Bry snorted, "You just left the library to come here and _read_? Can't you at least pretend to be happy for Ev? It is her first real boyfriend after all."

I didn't want Joe and Bry to be at odds again. Sometimes I wondered of they were more mortal enemies than best friends. But in other ways I felt like they had a closer bond with each other than I had with either of them. Bry's parents were super spies. Sure they gave her plenty of love... when they were around and not cheating death. Joe never saw her father, and Aunt Macey, don't get me wrong loves her daughter to pieces, but she's not exactly the mothering type.

"He just wants to hang out." I said trying to make it as casual as possible. Joe shrugged, "Do you want you want, Ev. Honestly, if you like him, go out with him... but... don't say I didn't warn you. Spies and civilians don't mix." Bry huffed as she began her afternoon yoga routine. She pulled her foot over her head and said, "Wow... Way to be a downer, Joe. I for one think it's a fantastic idea. Tell him you're free Friday night."

"That's a good idea, except I'm not fee Friday night." I said laughing at Bry, if she wasn't doing a series of complicated stretches I would have thought she wasn't a spy. Bry shrugged, "You're not doing anything are you?" I frowned, "No... but we're not allowed to leave." Now it was Bry's turn to laugh, "So sneak out! You know how." She was taking it too far. I was trying _not_ to duplicate my mother's mistakes.

"No, Bry." I said flatly, "No, that's so not happening... we'll just wait until..." Bry interrupted me, "Until our next free weekend? Which is next month." I groaned out of the corner of my eye I could see Joe smirking triumphantly. I wanted to wipe that smirk off her face. So I did, "Fine, this Friday." I said Bry grinned slammed her book shut and headed for the door. "Where are you going?" Bry asked. Joe didn't answered she just slammed the door behind her. Bry tried to laugh it off but I could tell she was worried.

"I've never seen Joe act out this way." I said looking down at my computer screen guiltily. Bry shrugged, "Don't worry about her, I'll talk to her later." I smiled uncertainly. "Reply him. Friday, dinner and a movie!" Bry squealed and pranced over to our closet and started picking out random clothing items. I laughed and started typing.

_Hi, Stent! _

_I'm free this Friday. How about we get a bite and see a movie? ;]_

_Kidnapped? Well, you know, Roseville Virginia is crawling of kindappers _

_-Ev_

When Bry read it she made me take out the winky smiley face and put just a regular one. I clicked the send button. I looked up from my laptop and Bry and laid down several outfits on her bed. I couldn't help myself I laughed, "Wow, Bry." I said looking at all my apparent options for Friday. One thing Bry had inherited from Bex was her mothers knack for style. When it came to fashion I was completely lost. So I basically stuck with Hollister, American Eagle, my theory is if I shop at the same stores I'd some how pull off some kind of style. So far it's worked pretty well sometimes Bry calls me Holli (short for Hollister) when I walk out in all Hollister clothes but I doubt anyone else notices.

There are a few items of Bry's and Joe's clothes in the mix. I immediately take out Joe's shirt and skirt and throw them back into the closet, "Don't you think that's pushing it?" I ask Bry sort of annoyed that she'd even try. Bry shrugged, "Joe'd probably be all over planning your outfit... if Stent was a spy." I sigh, "Well he's not..." I notice there's one Bry's mini skirts in the mix. Bry's one of the lucky people who can pull off a mini skirt as tiny as that and not look slutty, it's because her legs are so short. But people of average height like me, or worse people who are tall like Joe... well we'd look like definite whores if we wore them. I take that out of the pile as well. Bry pouts I ignore her expression.

After about an hour of picking this and throwing that and fighting over my favorite jeans (I finally win the argument) We finally choose a good outfit. I put it on just to make sure everything went as planned and I have to say I looked really good. Bry cocked a hip next to me in the mirror, "Well, Miss Goode, you are ready for your date." Yeah... My highly illegal-get thrown out school if I get caught-would totally disappoint my mom-date... great.


	6. I Like You: Part One

**Chapter six, hurray! I got some good feedback from chapter five, and now I'm totally inspired and have been writing like crazy. When I was about half way through this chapter I realized it was going to be way longer than my usual chapters so I've decided to cut it into to parts. Even then it's almost twice as long as usual. xD Anyways, I hope you enjoy it! **

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I don't think I've been more nervous in my entire life, I was about to sneak out of Gallagher Mansion. The good thing about an all girls school of highly responsible spies-in-training is that we don't have any need for a librarian. We all know well enough to clean after ourselves, some girls even wipe their prints. I'm not that paranoid, but I always put my books back where I found them. All Bry and I only had to do was wait until the library was empty before we executed our plan. There's one other good thing about the library I forgot to mention: There's a secret passageway in it.

In my moms day all the secret passageways leading outside had gotten blocked. Correction: All the secret passageways that they _knew_ of. But Gallagher Mansion is full of secrets. Bry, Joe, and I have had our fair share of exploring. Most everything we found in our early days were just secret rooms with no real use. (Except what we call the pillow room. Bry uses that to take naps while playing hookie during Foreign Etiquette) We found library passageway a year ago. Bry had found it while playing hide and seek. (We spies play it just a little differently) She was looking for a good hiding place and she stumbled upon it. She followed the passageway down until she reached an exit in the abandoned warehouse Roseville square.

Bry and I both knew that finding the library empty at four o'clock would probably be a long shot but we had a plan B if luck wasn't on our side. I wince thinking about how my grandma would chastise me for having a plan (even if we did have a back-up) depend on luck. Our back-up plan was fairly simple: Stink bomb. Unfortunately we weren't entirely sure if I would be able to get rid of all the smell in time for my date. (We made sure to pack extra body spray, just in case)

Weirdly enough, luck was on our side that night. At exactly four we found the library to be completely empty. I guess nobody wanted too study on a Friday night. Bry and I headed to antique section of the library, and found the dustiest book shelf. (We always dust it again after we use it) The shelf was decorated like all the other vintage shelves in this section of the library with crawling vines. Bry counted twenty three leaves from the top and pressed the leaf. The old shelf creaked and slid out of place. Bry and I quickly ducked in closing the "door" behind us.

"I have a good feeling about this." Bry sang cantering through the darkness as I fumbled behind her, "Really?" I asked turning on my flashlight, "I was about to say the opposite." There's a reason I'm going to go into undercover work. The whole gracefulness thing needed to do real dirty work like flipping through laser beams and stealing the noc list is definitely not my thing. I mean I'm not a total klutz but compared to Bry I looked like an oaf. Bry laughed, "You're just nervous for your date." I didn't argue Bry was right, I had a feeling that Uncle Solomon was going to appear in front of us or something.

It was a thirty minute walk through what Bry and I were fairly certain was an underground tunnelway to the said warehouse. Bry had already made a trip down there bringing everything I would need. We decided that it would make more sense for me to get ready at the actual warehouse then to get ready at school arouse suspicion and possibly get cobwebs and dust all over my carefully picked out clothes. Bry had somehow snuck out a floor length mirror in the warehouse, which I have no idea how she did it with no one noticing... or where she got the mirror in the first place. I decided it was better not to ask.

"Okay, we have fifteen minutes." For a normal teenage girl that might have been a daunting amount of time to get ready for a date. But we're spies. Hell, we even have a course designed for efficient and quick changes. I put my knowledge to use and changed my entire outfit in sixty nine seconds flat. (I'm not exaggerating. Internal chronometer, remember? It never really turns off.) Bry brushes the few cobwebs out of my hair as I apply my make-up. I'm not too big on make-up, of course I know how to apply it well. (Another course we have to take) But I feel kind of weird when I'm wearing a lot of make-up... it just doesn't feel like me. With a little mascara, eyeliner, and Chap Stick, I'm ready to go.

"You look hot." Bry said admiring me in the mirror. I smile, yeah the outfit definitely turned out well. My favorite destroy skinny jeans a button down plaid shirt and for shoes a pair of oxfords that I never where, because they're horrible for running. (We made an exception for Stent) Yeah, I did look good Bry handed me her camel leather jacket and it really finished off the whole ensemble. "Thanks, Bry." I said sincerely. Bry smiled, "No problem, and you were right about the jeans, they do go better than the skirt." Now it was my turn to smile. Maybe I wasn't so completely hopeless at this style thing after all.

I looked at my watch, "We've got nine minutes." Bry nodded, "Yeah... Too bad Joe isn't here." She said absently. I watched Bry's expression carefully, I couldn't read it, "Yeah, too bad." I repeated. Bry smiled, I knew it was fake, "I should head back. I have no idea if she's going to want to cover for you, she was pretty pissed when we left." Joe had spoken to either of us at all that evening. I didn't get it, if she hated Stent this much why hadn't she said so in the first place when he was only a possibility. I guess checking out a guy is different then dating him.

"Okay." I said remembering to answer, "I'll see you in a few hours." Bry winked before she re-entered the secret passageway, "Have fun." She said closing the door behind her. I could hear her chuckling even after it shut. From my point of a view it just looked like a part of the concrete wall... weird. I waited five more minutes than excited out of the back of the building. There was no one in the alleyway except for a stray cat. I walked around the side of the building and walked out hoping nobody would notice a girl coming out of the alley, not like it'd be super suspicious or anything, but people tend remember the things that they shouldn't.

I walked over to the gazebo where we'd agreed to meet. I was surprised to see that Stent was already standing there waiting for me. I grinned; we were both early. He was facing the opposite direction so I caught him by surprise when I yelled out his name. He turned around already smiling. He was still on crutches and his cast was still full of signatures I noticed there was a phone number in girly handwriting. Jealousy began to settle in, but then I reminded myself that he was spending his Saturday evening with me and not her.

"Evelyn Goode." He said his usual greeting, then he checked me out. The full up-down and didn't even try to hide it, his grinned sheepishly at me, "You look good." He complimented me. I put my hands in the pocket of Bry's jacket, "Thanks, so do you." And he did. A simple V-neck and cool cargo shorts, he came across as more of a jeans guy to me, but it's not like he could fit into them with his cast. I realized that I probably looked pretty dressed up next to him. I tried not to let it bother me.

"You hungry?" Stent asked me, "Famished." I answered truthfully I hadn't eaten dinner with the rest of the girls, and I didn't get much for lunch because I was too worried about Bry's bright stink bomb idea to have much of an appetite. "Let's go." He said leading the way. We walked next to each other at a comfortable distance once our hands brushed but neither of us said anything, it's not like we could really hold hands with Stent's crushes.

"So you snuck out huh?" Stent asked me as we waited at the crosswalk. The color rose to my face immediately. How'd he know? "I... well, yeah." I said with a small chuckle. Stent didn't laugh, he just smiled, like really smiled, like so big I was getting a little worried that his skin would crack from the strain. "What?" I asked when he said nothing. Stent just shrugged, "I dunno, that's just sort of cool that you snuck out for me." I found myself blushing again. It wasn't like I could deny it, I _was_ sneaking out for him. "Don't let this go to your head." I said bumping his shoulder with mine gently. Stent only smiled bigger. Mental Note: _Stenton West has the most adorable smile in the history of adorable smiles. Cased closed._ "Wouldn't dream of it." He said as he began to cross the street, I pretended not to pick up on the sarcasm.

We reached the diner within minutes and sat across each other in a booth. In all my years of partly living in Roseville Virginia I have to admit that I'd never eaten there. Stent was still smiling after we'd ordered our food, "So there's this girl in my bio class, and she reminds me of you." He said casually. I wasn't exactly sure what he was getting, "Personality wise, or looks wise?" I asked pretending not to be too interested, "Both." He said not taking his eyes off me. I shrugged, "That's interesting."

"She's my lab partner."

"Do you like her?"

"Well, I like you."

That surprised me, my eyes shot up to study his face. He was grinning but I was satisfied to see that he was blushing the tiniest bit. "That doesn't answer my question." I said keeping eye contact. He chuckled, "Evelyn, I just told you I like you, and you're still asking about my bio partner? Yes, I like her, she's great! I copy her notes, she does most of the lab work, and I've even cheated on her test." I gasped, "You cheated on her test?" I said surprised and honestly a little disappointed. Stent sighed, "Yeah, once in the first week of school, but you're still missing the point here. I like you."

He said it again. This time it really it hit me. I got a rush of adrenaline. I was smiling, without meaning to, "You've met me three times." I argued logically with a small laugh. Stent shrugged, "So? I liked you the first day I met you. I liked you the second day I met you, all the days in-between that, and I like you now." This was getting a little too rehersed, the spy in me was wondering just how many girls he'd told that to. I stayed quiet. Stent looked at me expectantly, "So...?" He prompted. I sighed, "So... what?" I asked innocently, "I just poured my heart and soul out to you and you're not going to say anything." I laughed earnestly this time, "I snuck out for you remember? I think that's enough heart and soul for one date."

"You sneak out for a lot of guys?" He asked with a raised eyebrow. I didn't answer his question replied sarcastically, "Yeah, this is a great way to start off a relationship, let's skip the happy go lucky stage and go straight to being suspicious of each other." Stent smiled that same huge smile, "What?" I asked him again, "You just said relationship." He said smugly. Crap. I totally did, "I guess I did." Said taking a sip of my coke. Stent still had that smug expression on his face, "You're totally my girlfriend." He said in a low sing song voice. I rolled my eyes Mental Note:_ Stenton West sometimes acts like a kindergartener, but for some reason it doesn't bother me._ Pretending not to be phased, "After three days? I don't think so."

Stent said nothing as our food arrived, but he was still smiling. So was I. Mental Note:_ Be careful, it's wayyyy to easy to fall for this guy._

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**The end of chapter six! Stay tuned for chapter seven it'll be coming along soon. ;]**

**XOXO Windy**


	7. I Like You: Part Two

**Here's chapter seven! I'm a little worried that some people might not like the ending of this chapter. But tell me what you think. ;] And thank for the lovely reviews!**

**Also, writeme516, asked me if I was planning on writing a sequel with the Blackthorne exchange in it. And I actually am. =] But I'll might take a little break after this story is finished just to get my ideas together and all. And it also depends on the feedback I get from the end of this story. (I tend to write more the more feedback I get xD I know it's kind of co-dependent, but whatever) Anyways yeah, I love Blackthorne boys. 3 **

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We fell into an easy casual conversation, Stent said nothing more about me being his girlfriend but I think both of us sort of knew if I wasn't his girlfriend technically yet, it was going to happen. About half way through his burger Stent peered through the window and winced like he'd just tasted something really bad, "Lord help us all." He said sarcastically. I looked out the window to see a group of three girls and a boy walking towards the diner. They looked like they'd stepped right out of the cast of Mean Girls, except the guy, who looked like he was having a miserable time.

"Who are they?" I asked popping a french-fry into my mouth. Stent leaned back in his seat like he didn't want to be seen, but I was pretty sure it was too late. "Barbie and the Bitches." He said like it was a name of a band. I laughed, "And the guy?" Stent gave a sympathetic smile in the direction of the poor fellow as their group entered the diner, "He's Jenny's-the leader of the pack's-twin brother. I think his name is Conner or something." Jenny and her 'friends' paraded in. The minute she spotted Stent a huge grin spread across her face.

"Shit." Stent mumbled under his voice. "Oh my God, Stenton what are you doing here?" She said with a small giggle. And I couldn't believe how rude she was, without even asking she slid into the booth getting a little closer to him than I was comfortable with. Stent gave her a small smile, "Oh hey, Jenny, I didn't notice you there." He lied. Jenny shrugged, "Yeah, we just came in. Aand you didn't call me back like you promised, jerk!" She said hitting his shoulder playfully. Her two friends laughed on cue. The guy of the group shoved his hands into his pockets looking apologetically at me. Stent shrugged, "Sorry, I've been busy." He said running a hand through his hair.

"I know!" Said one of the girls with huge and suspiciously perfectly centered boobs, "We'll pull up a couple chairs and we can all sit with each other." I wanted to kick her ass, literally. Before Stent or I could object the guy in the group was pushed into the booth next to me and the two extra girls got two chairs to sit at the end. And I knew that that would be the end of my date with Stenton West.

Our "group" was split up into three couples. Stent and Jenny, big chest and her friend, and the Conner guy and I. "Hi, I'm Ev." I said shaking hands with him, "I'm Eric." He said smiling back at me. Wow, Stent could not have been more wrong. Mental Note: _With a memory like that Stenton West would make a terrible spy_. He looked a lot like his sister, but he had a light spray of freckles and green eyes instead of blue. He looked like a genuinely nice guy. He leaned in closer to me and said in a low whisper, "Sorry about my sister." I knew that he and I would get a long, "It's not your fault." I said with a small shrug.

We both looked over at Stenton and Jenny. She was animatedly telling him a story and to my dismay it actually looked like Stent was enjoying himself. I reminded myself of his reaction to seeing her. "Are you his girlfriend?" Eric interrupted my analyses of the two. I shook my head, "Just friends." I said not knowing if I was telling the whole truth or not. To my surprised Eric looked sort of relieved, "You don't go to Roseville High do you?" It was more of a statement than a question, with a population as little as Roseville a fresh face like Stent's or mine was easy to spot out. "No, Gallagher Academy." Eric winced, "Ooh. I was hoping you were homeschooled." That reminded me of my moms cover. Eric continued, "I guess Gallagher's not too bad. I mean you could be an ex convict." He said mischievously. I laughed resisting the urge to hit him. There was no way I was going to stoop as low as Jenny.

Eric stole one of my french-fries and that's when I realized he was flirting with me. I didn't want to admit it but I was enjoying it. I snatched the french-fry out of his hand, "Get your own." I said putting it in my mouth. Eric stole another one this time putting it in his mouth, "Greedy." He smiling at me. I rolled my eyes, "Whatever." Eric laughed and stole another this time I didn't protest. Now Jenny was messing with Stent's hair. I wanted to take my french-fries and shove them down her throat forcing her to die of potato asphyxiation. But I resisted the urge.

"How long have you known Stenton?" Eric tried to ask casually, but I could see through his façade he was trying to gather information on Stent and I as a couple. I shrugged, "A few weeks, we met by change... actually I accused him of being this guy that made fun of my friend." I laughed remembering how wrong I'd been, "But obviously it was a case of mistaken identity. And we sort of just hit it off." I realized that I was smiling. Why does that always happen? Eric nodded slowly, "You're not his girlfriend so I'm gunna guess this is your first date?" I smiled and nodded, "Well... it was until your lovely sister decided to intervene." Eric rolled his eyes, "I cannot say sorry enough... you know what? I'm going to fix this." Before I could say anything Eric pretended to be answering his phone he stood up and got off the table pretending to argue with someone then hung up by the time he came back everyone was staring at him.

"Who was that?" Jenny asked taking a sip of Stent's coke. Eric pretended to be disappointed, "Mom wants us home, now." I couldn't help myself a grin spread across my face. Mental Note:_ If Blackthorne is ever low and recruits, I should totally refer Eric._ Jenny made the most annoying pouty face I've ever seen, "Tell her I'll be there in twenty." She said meaning for her brother to scoot. Eric shook his head, "She specifically wants _you_ home, Jen." Jenny sighed and then flung herself at Stenton in a hug, "I'll see you at school." She said after leeching off of him, "Don't forget to call!" She stood up and paraded out the same way she walked in. Eric was the last to walk out. Before the he closed the glass door behind the group he winked at me.

"What was that about?" Stent asked obviously noticing the wink. I smiled, "_Eric, _just helped us get rid of Barbie." Stent didn't seem to notice that I'd given him the write name verses Conner. He smiled, "I'm gunna have to thank him." He took a sip of his soda his lips pressed right against where Jenny;s had been I was suddenly very annoyed with Stenton West.

"You talk to Jenny often?" I asked casually. Stent shrugged, "We have English Lit together. And don't worry I don't cheat of her tests. But she's surprisingly kind of smart." I snorted, "Her? Smart?" Stent nodded, "Yeah, she called me a few days ago and we actually talked for almost forty minutes. And she didn't mention Twilight or Make-up once." Now I was really beginning to get annoyed with him. "You guys talk on the phone?" He shrugged again, "Yeah. She usually calls me. She's pretty cool, but I hate her friends. And she likes me, so that's why I don't call her back. I don't want her to read into things." Why was he acting like it was totally normal for Jenny to come and commandeer our date?

"What happened to Barbie and the Bitches?" I asked totally confused at how that when he first saw them he'd dreaded their coming in and now that they were gone he was defending them. Stent laughed, "She's Barbie, her friends are the bitches. Why are you so mad? You looked pretty comfortable with Mr. Conner over there." That was the last straw, "_Eric!_ His name is Eric! And yeah, I was pretty comfortable! He actually apologized for Jenny, and helped me get my date back, but now I'm thinking that I'd rather hang out with him."

"Maybe I'd rather hang out with Jenny." He said glaring at me over the table.

"Well, I'm sure you'll get the chance." I said standing up. Stent stood up too only he winced and almost had to sit back down because he forgot about his leg. I began to storm out. He fumbled out of the booth and started to follow me double speed on his crutches. I pushed open the glass doors and kept walking down the street.

"EVELYN!" I heard him yell. I didn't want to but I couldn't help myself, I turned around. Stent was coming towards me on his crutches. I waited for him when he finally reached me I actually felt bad he looked really sorry, "Why are you so mad all the sudden?" He asked honestly. I shrugged, "I dunno, because you're so... obtuse." I said finally. Now he just looked really confused, "I'm... obtuse?" He said the look on his face was just so comical I started laughing. That's when I realized why I was mad at him: He wasn't a spy. He made stupid mistakes like forgetting someone's name or just generally saying the wrong thing to his date. A spy would never do that.

When I laughed a smile broke out on his face, "I like your laugh, Evelyn Goode." He said softly still smiling at me. At that moment I wanted to kiss him so badly, you have no idea. I poked his chest, "You're not just obtuse, you're like the epitome of stupid teenage boy." Stent laughed this time, "How is it that whenever I say really romantic sentimental things, you always manage to side step them?" I shrugged, "It's a gift."

"Way to ruin the vibe." He said another romantic sentimental thing. I didn't side step it this time. I just smiled and looked up at him. What was I going to do? Here in front of me, was the perfect guy, perfect except he wasn't a spy. Not only was he not a spy, but he'd make a horrible one if he tried. But he was sweet and honest, and even though he didn't know what _not_ to say he knew exactly what _to_ say.

He nodded his head towards the movie theatre, "Come on, let's go see a movie." I found myself shaking my head, "I think I've had enough Stenton West for one night. There's only so much of you a girl can take." I said still smiling to show him I wasn't mad. Before I continued to go with him, I needed to know if I was okay with him being a normal boy. Maybe Joe was right. Civilians and Spies don't mix. But looking up into Stenton's eyes I couldn't help but hope she was wrong.

"Will I get a second date?" Stent asked looking a little concerned. I laughed, "Maybe." I said trying to use the playful mysterious card. Stent shook his head seriously, "What is it?" I frowned my turn to be confused, "What do you mean?" I asked. He sighed, "Something happened between when Jenny came to know to make you rethink going out with me. I just want to know what it is." I looked down at me feet not wanting to look him in the eyes as I said this. "I had certain... expectations." I said trying to think of a way to say this without mentioning the fact that I'd wanted him to be more spy like, "And I guess you didn't meet all of them." Crap. I sounded like such a jerk, "But it's not like your not good enough. You're just different, and I like you, but..." I trailed off not knowing what I was saying anymore.

Stenton reached out and touched my chin pulling it up gently so I could look up into his eyes, "I'm not what you expected." He had a sad smile on his face. Now I felt like a huge jerk, "I get it, and at least you're being honest. I can't stand girls who don't say what they feel." Stenton continued, "I'll see you later, okay?" He said letting go of my chin and walking away. He turned around suddenly with a mischievous smile on his face, "And by the way. I guess I was wrong, you're totally not my girlfriend." I laughed and watched him walk away.

I think that's when I realized exactly how much of an amazing guy Stenton West was. He didn't hate me for saying that he didn't live up to my expectations. And by telling me that I wasn't his girlfriend he was giving me time to figure things out, but that also meant that he was free to go for whoever he wanted. I thought about Jenny and his mysterious lab partner. But it wouldn't be fair for me to want him to wait for me. I was going to have to choose if I was okay with Stenton West not being a spy. I'd been around spies my entire mistake. I'd never thought about how much getting a simple name wrong would bother me.

I turned around and headed for the abandoned warehouse. My first date with Stenton West had definitely not gone as planned, but that was okay. Mental Note: _Spies and Civilians don't mix... but Stenton West and I just might._

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**What do you think? I hope you guys didn't hate the ending, I wanted to stress the differences of spies and civilians. Reviews are loved!**

**XOXO Windy**


	8. Salad and Confusion

**Hey guys! Here's the next part of the story! Thanks for the good feedback! =D I had a bit of trouble writing this chapter, so I hope it's not too choppy. Thanks for reading! **

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After my failed attempt of a date with Stent, things sort of went back to normal at school. Well, as normal as you can possibly get at an all girls school for spies. I kept expecting one of my teachers to confront me about the evils of fraternizing with civilians, but nobody did. After the first two days of paranoia I gave up on thinking Stent and I had been caught. Anyways, I was practically drowning in homework, there wasn't much time to be worrying about things like that.

Even though I was fairly certain I'd gotten in and out of the mansion undetected I was still a little nervous when I received a hand written note from my grandma asking me to have dinner with her the next Sunday. I hoped it wasn't a big deal, but with Grandma Rachel you never knew.

"She probably just wants to catch up, Ev. Didn't she and your mom have dinner every Sunday back in the day?"

Bry said encouragingly to me as I was getting dressed for my dinner date with grandma, "Yeah, but my grandma and I do that like once a year! Don't get me wrong, I love her and all, but we've never been that close." It was true, I love my grandma more than anything. She's awesome, but most of my childhood she was either running Gallagher Academy or chasing after the last few circle members that haven't been caught yet. I don't resent her for it or anything, but because of it we never really had a good granddaughter/grandmother bonding.

"Maybe she wants to change that." Bry said still staying on the optimistic side. "I'm sure Bry's right, as long as you don't look as guilty as you do now you should be fine." Joe said agreeing with Bry. Joe had gotten over the whole boyfriend fiasco. Probably because I told her that our date was a train wreck. That girl is so confusing; I'm not sure how she'll react if I saw Stent again.

"Okay. Maybe you two are right." I said looking in the mirror. I looked good and casual, not there was really anyone to impress when having dinner with my grandma... oh yeah, except my grandma. I looked at my watch I had three minutes to get down to her office, "Okay, I should go." I said clearing my throat. Bry and Joe wished me good luck and I left our suite and headed down the many flights of stairs to my grandmother's office.

It took me exactly two minutes and four seconds to get there at a slow pace. I hovered outside her door for a few seconds then decided that it wasn't going to hurt anybody if I showed up a little early. I knocked timidly. The door swung open and my grandma was standing there. It was always weird to see her in normal clothes. Instead of her usual power suit Headmistress get up she was wearing simple jeans and a button down T-shirt. She looked like a normal grandma.

"Hi." I said walking into the familiar office. She closed the door behind me, "Hey, sweetie, how are you?" I shrugged, "Trying to keep my head above the rising tides of schoolwork, but besides that pretty good." I sat down in a comfy leather chair. Rachel Morgan was possibly the most intimidating woman in the world, but when she laughs you forget that she can kill you in a blink of an eye, and you just relax. "You got your humor from your Grandfather." She said sitting on the other edge of her desk. There were two bowls of salad set out. Grandma Rachel was a terrible cook, but salad she could do... sometimes. From where I was sitting it looked pretty safe.

I'd never met my grandpa. He disappeared when my mom was young. Nobody really talks about it that much, I've always been really curious. One time Joe and I tried to break into the NSA files on him, but we caught. After the SWAT team had been cleared from Joe's Jonas Brother's themed bedroom we were both grounded.

"How's headmistress-ing treating you?" I asked taking my first bite of the salad. It was actually pretty tasty. My grandma smiled, "None too bad. One of my students snuck out too see a boy last Friday." She said casually. I actually surprised myself by keeping my cool. I raised an eyebrow and continued to eat. I remembered one of the first rules of undercover work; _never give more information than you have to._ "That's weird." I said chewing on a crouton. My grandma smirked, "So you haven't heard of anybody sneaking out, have you?" _Besides me? Not at all. _"Not really." I said but then added, "But it can't be that uncommon, I mean my mom did it." I said hoping that wasn't pushing it a little much.

"Rumor is, you're close to the girl." My grandma said popping a cherry tomato into her mouth. I shrugged again, "None of my close friends have snuck out. At least not to my knowledge." My grandma's smirk grew. We were playing games with each other. "Well, if you run into her, you should tell her that Stenton West is not the kind of boy I'd have any granddaughter of mine to date... Hypothetically speaking of course." I still remained calm. "I'll be sure to pass on the message if I hear anything. He's not a good guy?" My grandma shrugged, "He's not a terrible guy, but he's not the kind of guy that could handle dating a girl like you?" I pretended to look surprised, "Like me?" I asked. She nodded, "I meant a spy." _Nice save, granny._ "Of course." I said taking a large bite of my salad.

We were quiet for exactly forty two seconds before my grandma broke the silence, "How are you liking your first semester of Cov-Ops?" I smiled relieved that we were for certain moving off the subject of Stent, "It's tough, but I love it." She nodded, "Still planning and going into undercover work?" I grinned, "Yeah, it's what I'm best at." I said telling the truth. She laughed, "I can tell." I wasn't entirely sure of what she meant by that, but I wasn't about to ask. We ate our salads in silence for another fifty seven seconds. Almost an entire minute.

"So..." I said trying to think of a way to make our dinner any less awkward than it was, "We haven't had a lot of Cov-Ops field trips. Only one." My grandma nodded, "I know. Sending the entire sophomore year out into the world takes a bit of planning. Especially when every single one of those girls is equipped to kill." My grandma and I smiled at each other. The poor citizens of Roseville Virginia had no idea what the occupants of Gallagher Academy were capable of.

_Ring! Ring! Ring!_

My grandma's phone rang. She frowned and answered it slowly, "Rachel Morgan." She asked with her headmistress voice. I leaned back in my chair wondering how long her conversation would go. Someone was talking rapidly on the other line but I couldn't make out any words. She sighed heavily and convered her face with her free hand, "Yes, I understand... No, she's with me right now... We'll be there in a moment." She hung. I looked up at her expectantly, unless there was someone hiding underneath her side of the desk I was the only _she_ in the room besides herself.

"Stenton West has just climbed the outer wall, and now he's throwing stones at your window. Did you tell him which room was yours?" I spat out the crouton I'd been chewing, "WHAT?" I yelled completely shocked. Grandma Rachel turned into Rachel Morgan the lady you don't want to mess with, "Damn it, Evelyn! Did you tell him where your room was?" I slammed my salad bowl on the table, "No I did not! You're a _great_ grandmother you know?" I turned around and stormed towards the door, "Where are you going?" She yelled after me. "I'm going to tell my boyfriend to get lost!" I shouted back slamming her door behind me.

After I left her office I found myself jogging towards my room. What the hell was going on? How did he get in without getting shot? How did he know which window was mine? None of this was lining up. I needed some answers and Stenton West was about to get a mouthful I was not in a good mood.

I flung the door of my room open. It was empty. _Tink._ My eyes glanced towards the window just in time to see a pebble bounce of the pain and fall back to the floor. I darted to the window and moved the potted plant Bry had put there two days ago for more sunlight and opened it. Sure enough Stenton West was standing on the floor grinning up at me. He was off his crutches. Even though I meant to be completely pissed off at him, I found myself smiling, "What are you doing?" I yell/whispered down at him.

"I'm coming up!" He said throwing down the rest of his pebbles. Before I could say anything, he literally started climbing up the wall. My jaw basically dropped, he was good, like spy good. On his facebook profile it had said that he enjoyed rock-climbing, but I didn't know he was _that_ good. None of this explained how he knew this was _my_ room. It took him two minutes and sixteen seconds to get to me window. He climbed through as gracefully as Jacob Black into the bedroom of Bella Swan. Unfortunately he was wearing a shirt.

"How did you know this was my room!" Was the first thing I could draw out of my mouth. Stenton leaned against my window ceil with a confident smirk. "What? No, hello? What is it with you, and not appreciating all of my incredibly romantic gestures?" I raised my eyebrow at him, "Since when is breaking and entering a romantic gesture?" He laughed and put his hands in his pockets taking a step closer to me, "It's not a B&E if you get caught." _Oh, he had no idea. _

"How'd you know it was my room?" I asked again trying to ignore the fact that my heart was beating like a gazillion miles per hour. _Keep your cool, Ev, keep your cool._

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**That's the end! I can't wait for the next chapter. ;] It'll be good! Haha. Please review, it really inspires me to keep going!**

**XOXO, Windy**


	9. Explanations

**Hey guys! The eighth chapter is here! And as a bit of my own explanation this chapter actually isn't going to be all that amazing. I decided to wait for what I was planning on doing for another chapter. Heh, heh. ;] So you guys will just have to wait. Yeah, and sorry, Stent does not reveal that he is an Ex-Blackthorne. Sorry ladies. **

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Stenton sat down on the foot of my bed, "You haven't been returning my e-mails." He said side stepping my question. I wasn't going to be thwarted, "I haven't checked my e-mail." I told him the truth, "How did you know this room was mine?" He grinned, "You're friend... Bry? She got in touch with me, told me you were trudging around school, and needed some cheering up. So we devised a plan. She put a plant in the window ceil and left the light on tonight for me." I frowned, "But Bry knew I was going to be having dinner with my grandma she wouldn't invite you on the same night." I said stepping forward to him, "I'm actually an hour early. Couldn't wait." He was grinning at me. So that explained it. _Damn you, Bryony Newman. _

I gestured towards his leg, "No more cast?" He nodded, "And no more crutches." I sat down next to him, "So what now, are you going to sing me a sappy song, or recite me a poem you wrote." Stenton shook his head, "Are you kidding me? If you're not even going to be impressed with me climbing into your bedroom window Jason Bourne style then there's no way I'm going to waist time writing you a poem." I chuckled, "My hero." I said making up for my lack of enthusiasm for what he'd done to get here. It was actually really impressive.

"You should go." I said seriously. He sighed, "Afraid of getting caught?" He teased me inching closer to my face. _We already are caught._ I thought, "If you go, I'll check my e-mail." I said tilting my head to the side smiling sweetly. Stent sighed, "Oh, Evelyn Goode... The things I do for you." I laughed, "So far you've broken into my school, and paid seven fifty for a dinner which I only half finished." He stood up off the bed, "Okay, I get it. I will go, but I just wanted to make sure you weren't still steaming mad at me." I shook my head, "I'm not mad at all." I said finding myself smiling ear to ear.

"Promise?" Stent slipped his hand into mine. I nodded, "Promise. Now go, please? I'll e-mail you tonight. When we can meet again." Stent leaned forward and kissed me on the cheek. "Fine." He said giving me the most adorable pout in the history of the world. He let go of my hand and I had to bite back my lip to keep myself from asking him to stay. He was half way through the window when he said, "Since you snuck out to see me, I figured it was only fair that I sneak in to see you." I laughed, "Get out of here, Stent." His head dropped below the surface of the window I couldn't see him butI could hear him, "Goodbye, Evelyn Goode."

"Bye Stenton West." I said laughing quietly to myself. I jumped as the door to our suite slammed open. My grandma was standing there with Bryony all dressed in black standing behind her. She walked in with her arms folded over her chest, "I am ashamed of both of you!" I winced, but strangely did not feel guilty. I wasn't feeling too kindly towards my grandmother as I stared at her coldly. Bry came and stood next to me.

"I want you both to explain, what's going on. Starting with you, Miss Newman. Please, tell me why you were tampering with surveillance cameras." Bry sighed, "I was trying to hook-up my friend with a hot civilian, ma'am." I couldn't help but snicker. But Rachel Morgan was not amused, "Stenton West is a civilian. He does not have the training to break into a facility like, Gallagher Mansion. He could have been shot on site. Did you ever think of that Miss Newman?" Bry winced, "He wasn't supposed to come until eight, ma'am. After dark." My grandma laughed humorlessly, "Oh, and that makes it okay, does it?"

"No Ma'am."

"Even if Stenton had arrived on schedule, you're pathetic plan wouldn't have worked. I would have thought Jolene would have known better." Bry cleared her throat, "Joe wasn't in on this stunt, Ma'am." I looked at Bry amazed. She really hadn't thought this one through. She was a total dunce when it came to computer stuff. My grandmother covered her face, "Bryony Newman, you have so much to learn before you graduate this school. I'm honestly ashamed at how cheaply you're 'stunt' turned out. I expect more from my girls." Bry looked at the floor. I glared at my grandma, now that was harsh.

"And you, Evelyn." She paused and shook her head. To my surprise she softened her voice, "I tell you this because I love you. Relationships with civilians are dangerous at the least. I can't stop you, but I can discourage you-"

"And you've done that!" I interrupted her, "You've discouraged me in abundance. And if you're finished I have homework to do." My grandmother's mouth hung open. But she soon recovered, "I'm quite finished. You two girls will report to Mr. Solomon for detention every day this week after school."

"Yes, ma'am." Bry and I said in unison. My grandma turned and walked out of the room. As she passed me I swore I felt a chill. As soon as the door closed behind her I turned and glared at Bry, "You're and idiot." I said blankly and walked away from her to close the window.

To my complete and utter shock Bry started laughing. She just lost it. She literally fell face forward onto her bed and laughed. I frowned, "What the hell are you laughing about, Bry?" I asked definitely not in the mood of laughing. As soon as she calmed down she rolled over and looked at me, "Don't you get it?" She asked. I shook my head, "I don't, so you'd better tell me." Bry sighed. "You can't see it can you? Now you can date Stenton and _not_ lie to your grandma, parents, and school."

It dawned on me. Bryony had _wanted_ Stent to get caught. But I was still confused, "How is getting caught with my secret almost-boyfriend a good thing?" I asked. Bry chuckled, "There are no rules against Gallagher Girl's dating civilians. You can date whoever you want and you don't have to lie. You're welcome." I found myself now laughing. Bryony Newman was the best friend I could ask for.

I collapsed on the bed laughing aside her. She stopped laughing and looked at me seriously, "But I have to say, I'm impressed and a little worried. The guy seems a little bit too used to breaking into places. We should dig deeper into his criminal record!" I hit Bry playfully on the arm, "I'm sure he's not some criminal, my grandma would tell me." Bry nodded, "Okay. Go e-mail the dude. Before I have to do it for you again."

I chuckled and walked over to my laptop where I signed into yahoo.

_4 new messages. _

They were all from Stenton I skimmed over them and then started to compose my own message to him.

_Hey Romeo,_

_Where did you learn to climb like that? You're not related to spiderman are you? Because I really wouldn't be able to handle that. I hope you got out of the school okay. I can't wait to see you again. _

_-Evelyn_

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**So what did you think? Don't forget to review, please! It really inspires me to write more. I've already got the next chapter already typed up so it should only be a matter of days until that one comes out! **

**XOXO Windy**


	10. Garbogoly

**Hey guys! Here's the next chapter! I hope you like garbage. =D **

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The day after Stent had arrived at my window the school was buzzing with talk. I'd always been a bit of a celebrity as daughter of legendary Cameron Morgan-Goode and grandaughter of even more legendary Rachel Goode headmaster of Gallagher Academy. But what Stenton dead had spread through the school like a wildfire. I had reached an entirely new level of social status. All through the day girls asked me what seemed like _thousands_ of questions. I honestly got tired of asking them and they were ridiculous! Honestly. Everyone wanted to know if he was from Blackthorne. When I said no, it was like they were disappointed for me for falling for a civilian.

Some people were supportive. Others I could tell didn't know what to think. The most awkward question I had to answer was from a junior, Celine, who came up to me asked if Stent had come up to my room to make love to me. I laughed and told her no. I've never been kissed; I hardly think I'm ready for sex just yet.

I finally got a break when after all our classes were over, Bry and I had to report to Uncle Solomon for detention duty. He was waiting in the Cov-Ops class room sitting on his desk with a dangerous smile on his face. There was a pile of what looked like two gray jumpsuits folded neatly next to him.

"Hi, Uncle Solomon." I said plopping down in my usual seat. Bry sat next to me played idly with the strap of her schoolbag. She was a little angry at Uncle Solomon for failing her on the last Cov-Ops test, for the sole reason of showing up late. According to Uncle Solomon spies are never late unless they mean to be. And it was obvious by Bry's excessive apologizing that she had not meant to be late. Bry was the kind of person who held grudges. And to be honest I was a little worried for Uncle Solomon. If I were him I'd sleep with a knife under my pillow for the next few nights.

"Hey ladies" He said smiling at the two of us. Bry muttered something under her breath. Uncle Solomon ignored her comment and stood up he picked up both jumpsuits (for they were jumpsuits) and threw one to each of us. "Get suited up ladies; we're going to do some community service today." Bry and I shared worried looks. What was he going to make us do? We both slowly slipped into the jumpsuits over our clothes while Uncle Solomon waited patiently not giving us anymore information.

When we were both finished Bry folded her arms across her chest and asked, "What now?" Uncle Solomon looked at her obviously annoyed, "Loose the attitude Miss Newman." He commanded before telling us, "You two ladies are going to be doing some community service work today." Bry cleared her throat, "I'm sorry?" She asked completely stunned. Uncle Solomon raised an eyebrow, "I wasn't finished, Miss Newman. You two are going out to town to collect from the local garbages for my next class."

Both Bry and I were completely silent. Mr. Solomon was now grinning, obviously pleased with his cruel and unusual punishment for us. He opened the door for us, "After you, ladies." He said all together too pleasantly.

"I am going to hurt him." Bryony said as she handed me a dripping black garbage bag. "Loose the accent." I said trying not to barf as I labeled the bag with the house number we were taking bags from at the moment. Bry rolled her eyes, "Who's here to hear us?" she grumbled reaching into the garbage and brought out another bag this one not dripping as much. "I nodded over to the car where Uncle Solomon was leaning on the hood of his car pretending to do a crossword puzzle.

"Like he can bloody hear us." She said slamming the lid of the trashcan shut. I closed the lid of the sharpie I'd been writing with and threw the trash bag Bry had just handed me into the wagon Uncle Solomon had given us. We trudged together to the next house. "You're turn." Bry said gesturing to the garbage. I glared at her and reluctantly handed her the sharpie and masking tape. "Thank you." She said in a sing song voice. I turned to the garbage and pulled open the lid. It wasn't hard since the garbage was over flowing.

I pulled the first bag out and heaved surprised by the weight. "Here you are milady!" I said tossing it to Bry. She caught it and laughed, "Thank you, milord!" She said in her actually real accent. I turned back to the garbage and started pulling on the second bag.

"Ahem."

I looked up and my mouth literally dropped open. I dropped the bag on my foot, but didn't even wince because Stenton West was standing in front of me with his hands in his pockets. "Uh... Hi... Stent-ton." I said articulating his name weird. He scratched the back of his head, "Evelyn Goode... Why are you digging in my trashcan?" I would have covered my face in shame, but my gloved hands were filled with slime. Bry came behind Stent and poked him in the back. "We're here because of you, asshole." She said in her fully American Accent.

Bry standing next to Stenton was actually a pretty funny site. She was about a head and a half shorter to him, and that combined with the knowledge that I knew she could kick his butt in a heartbeat made me smile. Stent frowned, "Um... you must be... Bry?" he said holding out his hand to shake, but then he took it back when he saw what was on her hands. Bry nodded, "Yeah, they saw you climbing out of our window, and now we're in loads of trouble. Thanks." She said glaring him. He looked at me to verify what Bry had just said. I nodded and handed Bry the trash bag. He ducked his head momentarily and then looked up at me, "God, I'm sorry, Ev. I had no idea." I shrugged, "Don't worry."

"Oh, don't apologize to _me_, Romeo. It's not like I totally planned everything out and am suffering just as much if not more than, Evelyn. I don't care. I'm doing just fine. You know don't even worry about me!" Bry said sarcastically throwing another trashbag into the wagon. Stent laughed, "I'm sorry Bry." He said turning to her smiling, "And I owe you, big." Bry chuckled, "Damn straight." She said punching him in the arm.

She sidestepped me and whispered as she passed me, "Take a break." I grinned at her as she dragged another trashbag out of the garbage. I stole a glace over at Uncle Solomon who was absorbed in his crossword puzzle. Maybe he wasn't pretending. "When did you get out of the crutches?" I asked taking off my gloves as we moved onto the sidewalk in front of what I assumed to be his house. He smiled, "The cast came off the day after our run in with destiny-I mean Jenny." I laughed, "Looks good." He stuck out his leg like a super model and followed the line of his thigh with his hand, "Like it?" He said seductively. I pushed him, "Ew!"

"You are a strange girl, Evelyn Goode."

"You keep on saying things like that." I pointed out. He shrugged, "Well, it's true." I put a hand on my hip, "Expand." I said wondering what he really meant. He turned around and faced me looking at me straight in the eye, "Well, for starters, you look great in a jumpsuit." He said pulling on the loose fabric making me take a step closer to him. I slapped his hand off laughing. He continued, "You sneak out of your school to see me, but don't know if you want to date me or not." I could feel myself starting to blush. "And you're completely impervious to any romantic move I make on you."

I laughed tilting my head to the side, "Impervious, that's a big word." I said making fun of him. He ran his hands through his hair, "That's exactly what I mean!" He exclaimed which only made me laugh the harder. "You're going to drive me crazy, Evelyn Goode."

"Why do you call me that?" I asked honestly curious. Stenton shrugged, "I dunno." He said I could tell he was being honest, "Do you call every girl you meet by their first and last name?" He shook his head, "No. Definitely not." I smiled feeling special, "Why me?" He chuckled nervously, "I dunno. You're the first girl that's ever come storming up to me demanding if I was Blackthorne. You're not just anybody. You're dad owns Cheerios. I was studying with Jenny –don't get angry- and she wanted to 'go up to her room' all I could think about was you. And before you ask, I haven't hung out with her since. You go to a boarding school, you're dirty rich but you're not a snob. You're hilarious, and beautiful. Honest and genuine. You're Evelyn Goode, and I don't know... I guess just a first name wouldn't cut it with you."

_Mental Note: Stenton West officially has my heart._

"I don't know what to say." I said brushing a strand of hair behind my ear. He shrugged and slipped his hand into mine. "Next Saturday. Let's go on a date." I smiled mischievously, "Well, how can I so no to a guy who things I look great in a jumpsuit." He laughed. "I do have my ways with the ladies." Before I could make a witty retort Uncle Solomon literally popped out of nowhere.

"Hi." He said with his crossword puzzle folded neatly beneath his arm. Stent jumped, "Uh... can I help you?" He asked not letting go of my hand. Uncle Solomon smiled, and it was type of smile that made me worry dearly for Stent's life. "I'm her teacher. She's doing community service. You're leaving." Stent sighed, "Fine. I'll see you later, Ev." He kissed me on the cheek and jogged back to his house.

I was left alone with Uncle Solomon, "Thanks." I said sarcastically. Uncle Solomon was still grinning, "You've got work to do. But I'll give it to you, Ev. The boy's got balls. I saw the security footage of him climbing up to your window. He would have made a good spy." I smiled feeling suddenly proud of my almost-boyfriend. "He sure is a one of a kind." I said. Uncle Solomon gave me a serious look, "Stop mooning and get to work, Miss Goode." I sighed put my gloves back on and did as I was bid.

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**So... Uncle Solomon approves. But what will Ev's parents think? Hahaha. **

**XOXO Windy**


	11. The Secret Garden

**Hola! Sorry it's been a while since my last chapter, but trust me. This one is definitely worth the wait. I'm really loving how this story is unfolding. I've got it all planned out in my head and you guys are going to be shocked at the ending. But that's all I'm going to say -evil grin- Without further ado, the best chapter yet!

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"You're back with him? Great."

Joe said dryly as Bry and I gave her the lowdown of what had happened while we had our first detention. I rolled my eyes, "Yes I am, please don't give us the silent treatment. You've been doing that ever since Stent climbed through my window." Joe ran her hand through her flaming red hair, "Fine. But don't say I didn't warn you." I resisted the urge to roll my eyes again and said, "Thank you, for your blessing." Sarcastically.

"Now it's time to figure out how Ev's going to sneak out. This time _without_ getting secretly caught buy her grandmother." Bry said opening her laptop. Joe sighed but didn't protest. I'll admit I did feel a little guilty about sneaking out to see Stent. Wasn't the whole point of making our relationship public so I wouldn't have to go through extraordinary measures to see him? But if I didn't sneak out I would see him a total of once a month, and maybe whenever we had some Cov-Ops mission I might run into him. But it's really hard to concentrate on Cov-Ops when a magnificently sexy boy is talking to you.

"We can't use the library again." I said beginning to cross it off on our huge list of secret passageways. Bry grabbed my hand to stop me, "Why not?" She asked. I laughed, "Because my grandmother knew when I used that one!" I answered. She shook her head, "No. Your grandmother knew you somehow left the mansion. Yesterday I checked to see if the passageway had been filled, and it was clear as day. I even got all the way down to Roseville and back with no sirens going off. I think somehow she just heard you were missing and saw you in Roseville. You're grandma's probably got spies everywhere."

"Then how am I supposed to not be seen?" I asked exasperated. I never knew sneaking out would be this hard. My mom made it sound easy. Bry smiled, "I think the only reason you're grandma would even check was because you were missing. I mean right after school not in dinner, I'm guessing that might have tipped her off." What Bry was saying made sense but it still felt hopeless, "No matter what I'm going to be missing, Bry, what do we do." Bry smiled mischievously, "We're going to organize a little game of hide and seek."

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Bryony Newman was a genius. Every now and then all of the girls would play a spy game sometimes we could even do it for extra credit. So we invited every girl in the school to play a team game of hide-n-seek. The way that we play is sort of like a hybrid between Hide-n-Seek and Capture the Flag. Every team has a flag, and the point is to find the flag without getting seen by the opposing team. And there's a catch, you can't hide in the same place for more then ten minutes.

It was the perfect cover. Even though Bry was reigning champion I usually came in close behind her. Nobody would notice me missing. Everything was planned perfect I was going to meet Stent in the usual place under the gazebo at noon. And I couldn't have been more ready. We scheduled the all day game of hide and seek to start at eleven thirty. Everything was lining up perfectly. At eleven fifty two on the dot I arrived at the abandoned warehouse.

Just like last time I got ready and dressed in the dusty room. I wish I had Bry to help me, but we'd already decided my outfit beforehand, it wasn't like I needed her. Anyways Hide-n-Seek was her favorite game there was no way I was going to keep her from winning the seventh consecutive time in a row. Bry coerced me into wearing a dress. It was this gorgeous little spring floral thing I never wore because to be honest I never had an occasion to wear it. It was a little chilly so I dawned tights and wore the same oxfords as last time. I looked really... girly. But at the same time it felt good.

Two minutes to two I stepped out of the warehouse and into the alley. I smiled to think that just a week ago I'd been doing the same thing. I wondered if I'd make a habit of it. There are worse habits to make, you know.

Stenton was waiting under the gazebo just as last time. But there was a large basket in one arm. It was good to see him out of his crutches, and I had been right. He was more of a jeans type of a guy. He spotted me and smiled jogging down the steps of the gazebo to meet me, "Hi." He said hugging me. I squeezed him back trying to ignore the fact that I was currently pressed against rock hard abs and held in rock-climbing-muscular-arms.

"Hey, you." I said when he let go of me. He slipped his hand into mine and we started walking down the sidewalk, "I hope you didn't run into any trouble escaping your school." I laughed, "I know a couple secrets of Gallagher Mansion. I slipped out without anybody noticing. At least to my knowledge." _Mental Note: Holding hands with Stenton West is better than watching the Notebook._

"And I really do feel sorry about making do community service. I had no idea they were so strict over there." I shrugged, "Besides the fact that I had to be quarantined after dumpster diving all day for the last week, it wasn't too bad." Stent wince, "Oooh. Gross. What exactly were you doing with the trash bags?" _A lesson on how to create a physiological profile based solely on someone's garbage._ "My teacher Mr. Solomon, the guy that sent you home, is huge on going green. We were separating all the recyclable items. You, sir, need to get better at recycling." Stent laughed, "I'll be sure to work on that. But honestly sorting through trash? That's like cruel and unusual torture." _You have no idea._

"So, what's in the basket?" I asked craning my neck over to try and get a better look. He hid it behind his back, "You'll see." He said smiling secretively. I rolled my eyes, "Well you at least tell me where we're going?" He shook his head again, "That's a secret too, but it's not far." Now I was bursting curiosity. "We're not going rock-climbing are we because I'm not sure if I'm dressed appropriately." Stent chuckled. _Mental Note: The sound of his laughter never grows old_.

He looked sideways at me and checked me out before saying, "No. We're not rock climbing. And you look fantastic by the way." I smiled and squeezed his hand. We walked in silence for a while. It wasn't that uncomfortable silence where you're totally racking your brain for something interesting to say. It was just we were enjoying the moment together. We walked passed the square and into a lane of gorgeous old houses. Sometimes on free-days Bry, Joe and I would walk down this street and choose our dream house. Only a few people lived in them now.

"Here we are." He said stopping in front of the last house on the lane. Joe and I always made fun of that one because among all of these gorgeous old houses this one was, old but... not so gorgeous. It was empty and had been empty since I started going to Gallagher Academy. It was falling apart at the seams. "Um... of all the houses you want to show me... this one?" Stent laughed, "Come on." He said jogging into the yard. After placing his basket on the six foot brick wall he heaved himself up so he was perched on the wall.

I ran over to him, "Do you just enjoy breaking into places?" I asked putting my hands on my hips. He held out his hand to me, "Yeah, maybe I do." I took his hand and let him help me onto the wall, even though I was completely capable of getting over it without his help. He jumped down on the other side and helped me down his hands closing around my waist. I jumped down and staggered into his arms. Not on purpose, I swear! He steadied me and my heart stopped. Our faces were centimeters apart. We were so close I could feel his breath. He inched closer to me, and I mentally prepared for my first kiss. Unfortunately it didn't happen. He grabbed the basket from above my head and darted away dragging me by the hand.

It wasn't until then that I realized exactly why he'd chosen to bring into the backyard of this abandoned house. It was beautiful. When the person who owned it was alive it must have been a stunning garden. But since it had been abandoned all the plants and overgrown and there were flowers in bloom everywhere. It literally felt like a little piece of heaven.

"Stenton. It's beautiful." I said as he led me to place where the overgrown grass wasn't as long under an apple tree. "I thought you'd like it." He said letting go of my hand to put down the basket. He opened it and pulled out a red and white checkered blanket and laid it down in the grass. That's when it dawned on me that we were going to have a picnic... in a secret garden. _Mental Note: Stenton West is the most romantic boy... ever._

I sat down on the blanket and he came and sat across from me Indian style. "You are about to have a meal made entirely by gourmet chef, Stenton West." I laughed, "Oh, very fancy." He pulled out two plaits and gave one to me saying, "If it's disgusting we can order pizza." I laughed harder, "I'm sure it'll be delicious. If it's not I'll lie and say it is."

Stent proceeded to serve me a turkey sandwich with grapes and cucumbers on the side. "Healthy. I'm impressed." I said popping a grape into my mouth. Stenton shrugged, "My dad is doing this completely new organic diet. And it's all we had." It was pretty tasty... for a turkey sandwich. But I was hardly focusing on the food. The place was breathtaking. I felt like I'd stepped into the pages of The Secret Garden.

"Truth... or truth." Stenton asked me picking up a flower and placing it in my hair. I smiled at him, "Truth." He shifted his position so his legs were outstretched and he leaned back on his elbows, "How do you feel about me?" I sighed. What a vague question. "What do you mean?" Stenton shrugged, "What emotions do you feel, when you're around me? What do you feel when you think about me. What do you feel about me in general?"

I started playing with the hem of my dress, "When I'm around you I feel... happy." I laughed, "My heart kind of... fills up... you know." I blushed and looked down at me hands. How do explain that feeling when you like a guy? You're heart swells, you can't help but smile, its that indescribable feeling you get when you like someone... alot. I looked up at Stent and he was smiling at me.

_Mental Note: Stenton West has at least ten different smiles. My favorite is the one he smiles when he's looking at me._

We both just sat there smiling stupidly at each other. "Truth or truth?" I asked him. He pretending to be thinking really hard about it, "Truth... wait no! Truth." I laughed, "Okay. How did you find this place?" He grinned, "It was the day I got my crutches off. A couple guys from school and I were skating down in the square... And... Heheh. One of the guys had a baseball and we were just throwing it back and forth and I um... Accidentally threw it through a window." I gasped, "Stenton West!" I said pretending to be appalled.

"It was an honest mistake!" He protested. I shook my head, "Continue." I said eating another grape. He ran his hands through his hair, "Well. I know from personal experience that store owners have a low tolerance for skaters. It sort of comes with the image, not that I'm a juvenile delinquent or anything. It turned out that there was a cop shopping inside. He took one look at me and the chase began. I climbed into this backyard for cover. The minute I realized how beautiful it was I knew I just had to take you here."

"You're so thoughtful." I said honestly. He shrugged, "Don't mention it." Just then the 'neighbors' in the house next to ours started playing the song _A Kiss to Build a Dream On._ Stenton stood up almost immediately, "What are you doing?" I asked, but I got my answer when he held out his hand to me. I took it and he pulled me close to him, and we started slow dancing. He held my one hand close to his chest and held my waist close to him. I leaned my head on his shoulder.

There are several moments in my life which I know I will never forget. This is one of them. I can't explain it. It was like in that very moment in time there was nothing but Stenton and I. It was the first moment in my life when I didn't feel like a spy. I forgot that I knew fourteen different languages; I forgot that I could handle a gun better then most grown men, I forgot I could run three miles at six miles an hour before feeling winded. And most importantly, I forgot that I was an expert liar. At that moment I was just a girl. A girl completely in love with a guy I'd met a total of five times.

The song ended and a new one began _La Vie En Rose_. I pulled my head up to look at Stenton in the eye, "I'm perfectly happy right now." I said. He smiled back at me, "Me too." Then what I'd been waiting for, for fifteen years of my life happened. He leaned forward and gently pressed his lips against mine. I can't even begin to explain to you guys, how satisfying it was. He leaned back and my breath was completely caught. He laughed nervously.

"Hello Evelyin Goode."

"Hello Stenton West."

We both just smiled at each other kept dancing. Needless to say I wanted to be in that moment forever.

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**Did you guys love it or did you guys love it? =D There's a pretty blue button right underneath this... You should press it. Come on, you know you want to. ;] Haha, but seriously I LOVE reviews. I read each and every one of them. And critiques are completely welcome. If you have any complaints about the story, then share them! I want to better my writing style. **

**XOXO Windy**


	12. Parental Control

**Hey guys! I am so sorry for the wait! I have no other excuse aside from my own laziness. Anyways, I hope Cammie and Zach's reactions come up to your standards. ;D **

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I didn't get back to Gallagher Mansion until five minutes before dinner. I wanted to stay longer with Stent, but I had to bee seen eating dinner so that my grandma wouldn't get suspicious. I learned that Bry's team had won hide and seek. Which apparently had been my team, so naturally I sat at the victory table. The good thing was that nobody asked about my hiding spots (We never share that kind of stuff, you've got to find them on your own) But Bry and Joe were giving me significant looks dying to know how my date with Stent had gone. I knew that I was smiling ear to ear I couldn't wait to tell them everything!

Our table was buzzing with talk, I only joined in on part of it. My mind was filled with thoughts of a certain skater boy living in Roseville Virginia.

"Evelyn?"

I turned around to see my grandma standing behind me. _Busted._ I smiled at her innocently, "Hey, grandma." I said. She smiled back at me. I wondered if we were going to play another game of pretending not to know if I was sneaking out with a boy. "There's someone here to see you." She said. Joe gave me a questioning look across the table I shrugged and got up to follow my grandma out of the Lunch hall.

We made our way into her office and low and behold my parents were standing there waiting for me. "Mom! Dad!" I exclaimed running to them. My mom squeezed me tightly, "Hi, baby!" She said, obviously just as delighted to see me as I was to see her. My dad stroked my hair like he always did, "We missed you." He said smiling at me. "What are you guys doing here?" I asked completely bewildered. My dad and mom looked at each other, "We're here to talk about Stenton West." They said together.

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I couldn't believe I was doing this. I sat on the edge of my grandmother's desk phone in hand waiting for Stenton West to pick up on the other line. My parents sat together not taking their eyes off me. I hoped desperately that Stenton wouldn't pick up... but he did.

"Hello?" I cleared my throat, "Hey, Stent. It's me." I could hear smiling over the phone, "Evelyn Goode. I thought you didn't have a cellphone." I smiled just listening to him say my name, "I don't. Um... I'm using my parents' phone..."

"Uh-oh."

"Yeah, they came to visit me."

"You're parents... the owners of cheerios."

"My dad owns it. My mom married into billionaireship."

"I see... and you're calling me because?..."

"They want to meet you."

"Ah, the words that strike fear into the hearts of boyfriends everywhere."

"Ha. Ha. Very funny. Are you free tomorrow night to have dinner with us at The Compass? Say... Six o'clock?"

"The things I do for you, Evelyn Goode."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome. I can't wait to see you, with or without the owner of cheerios."

"Can't wait to see you too, Bye."

"Bye, Evelyn Goode."

I hung up and looked up at my parents. They were both studying me intently, "He said he'd be there." I said clasping my hands over my lap. My parents still looked at me without blinking. I knew they were still thinking about what they'd learned of Stenton from our conversation. My dad cleared his throat, "I'm going to give him hell." He said wringing his hands. That was exactly what I didn't want to hear. I wanted to run away and warn Stenton to leave the country before he got assassinated by my father, "Dad, that's not fair, you don't even know him." I started to argue but he cut me off, ""I know him well enough! This boy breaks into an all girls' school, and climbs up into _my_ daughter's bedroom window, to what? Help her with her homework? I'm going to kill him." He finished passionately

"No!" I yelled, "Nothing happened that night, or any night!" I couldn't believe my dad was being that judgmental straight off the bat. My mom placed a hand on my dads arm, "Zach, murdering an innocent boy is against the rules." She reminded him softly. Even though she reprimanded him I could tell she was amused. "He's hardly innocent." My dad said through his teeth as he folded his arms across his chest. I wanted to explain to my father how good of a guy Stent was, "He's not like other guys." I said before I realized how feeble it sounded.

My dad chuckled humorlessly, "So you're going to tell me he hasn't touched you... not at all?" I started blushing. _Whack!_ My dad's hand slammed on the table, "Civilian or not that boy better know how to defend himself." He stood up and stormed out of the office.

I started to follow him but my mom held me back, "He's just going for some air, Ev. Your boyfriend is safe." I sat back down not entirely sure if Stenton would live to see tomorrow, "I'm not lying to him the same way that you lied to Josh." I blurted out. My mom chuckled she put an encouraging arm around me, "So I've heard. That's good. I'm proud of you, Ev." I smiled it felt good to have my mom support me.

"I think once dad gets over the fact that Stent's my boyfriend he'll really like him." I said being honest. I could see a lot of familiarity between Stent and my dad. My mom sighed, "Dear... I have my doubts about this boy too... He doesn't too much of a criminal record, besides getting caught for graffiti once... but honey..." My mom hesitated, "His grades aren't too high." So mom really wasn't on my side, I can't say I was surprised.

"Give him a chance." I pleaded looking into her eyes, "For me, please." She smiled, "Of course, Ev, of course I will." She said squeezing me tighter. Then she smiled largely, "So... has he kissed you yet?" My face turned bright red, "Mom!" I laughed shocked that she was being that candid. She giggled, "I got my answer from that." She said kissing me lightly on the forehead. She then stood up, "I'm going to go find your dad. See if I can get him to behave nicely tomorrow night." She winked at me and walked out of the office closing the door behind her. Leaving me to think about what both my parents had said to me.

"Then... he kissed me."

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"Ahhhhhhh!" Both Bry and Joe squealed in unison. I find myself blushing like mad. I hid my face in a pillow with shame. Bry started laughing, "That's so awesome! Was he a good kisser?" She asked prying for more details. Joe snorted, "She's never kissed anyone before, how is she supposed to know?" I lifted my head from my pillow knowing my hair must have been all kinds of static-y "He was definitely a good kisser." I said seriously.

Bry was glowing, Joe was glowering. These days I had been really frustrated with Joe. It was like she was bi-polar. Sometimes she seemed like she was at terms with Stent and I, and other times it seemed like she hated the very idea. Bry kept on saying to give her time, but how much time did a girl need? It wasn't even like she was the one in the relationship.

Then something occurred to me, had Joe had her first kiss yet? Probably not, I've never heard of her dating anyone before. I wasn't about to ask. I made a quick mental note to try to get Bry to tell me why Joe was so sensitive about these things. I had a feeling that there was something else to the story.

"So now your parents want to meet him." Bry said her eyes gleaming with mischief. I nodded my head solemnly, "I know, isn't that terrible?" Bry laughed, "Totally. But one of the best ways to know if a guy likes you is to see how he acts around your parents."Joe huffed and rolled her eyes. (Something she's been doing a lot of lately)

Before I could reply to her Bry clapped her hand a new idea forming in her head. "Let's plan your outfit!" She said popping up like a pop-tart out of a toaster. I sighed and prepared for her to bring out the most revealing outfit yet...

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**Wow... Sorry that chapter was oddly hard for me to write! Thanks for the reviews and the criticism! I really do appreciate it. =D Look forward to a Zach vs. Stent stand off next chapter! Heehee.**

**XOXO Windy.**


	13. Stent vs Zach

**Hola! I really hope I can start updating more regularly. I keep myself writing a chapter ahead of what I'm updating, so hopefully I get into a better groove of updating regularly. Anyways, here's the next chapter! I hope you guys enjoy reading it. **

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The last time I drove in a limo I had been on my way to Gallagher Mansion, now I was on my way to dinner with my parents and my boyfriend. Looking at our family as a whole we definitely pulled off the mega billionaire look. My father was wearing a two thousand dollar suit and my mom was wearing this amazing classy dark purple dress with a pair Manolo pumps and so many diamonds I'd given up counting. I was wearing a simple yet classic Anthropologie dress that I actually loved.

My parents were holding hands sitting across from me. I couldn't help but smile, even after all these years they still loved each other. I hoped that someday I'd find true love like that. Maybe I already had.

I felt extremely conspicuous driving up to the most expensive restaurant in Roseville in a limo. I felt like some foreign princess. The limo slowed to a stop. I immediately spotted Stent standing outside waiting for us. He was absolutely adorable. He was wearing suit pants and a blazer with a light green shirt and a black skinny tie. Mental Note:_ I love skinny ties, especially when they're worn by the guy I like._ I didn't wait for the limo driver to come around and open the door for us. I hoped out of the limo. Stent grinned when he saw me. He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me into a tight hug. He kissed my cheek softly, "Do you always show up to dinner in a limo?" He asked. I laughed, "Dad wouldn't have it any other way. Come on, meet my parents." I reluctantly pulled away from our embrace and turned to my folks.

My dad and mom had gotten out of the car by now. Looking at my parents with Stenton standing next to me made me realize just how intimidating they looked. My dad was standing at his full height and glaring daggers into Stent. "Stenton, this is my father Zach, and my mom, Cammie." Stenton held out his hand to shake with both of them, "Mr. Goode, Mrs. Goode." He said giving firm handshakes and not breaking eye contact.

"We've heard almost nothing about you, Stenton." My dad said leading the way into the restaurant, "You're shorter than I expected." A dangerous edge entered his voice. A side of my father I knew he always used during interrogations. I wanted to smack him. But Stent only shrugged, "Really? You're just as I expected, sir." he retorted in the same tone of voice my dad had used on him. My mother raised an eyebrow and looked at my father as if she were saying, _What an impertinent boy. _I knew at that moment that this dinner was definitely going to be a long one.

We were seated and looking at menu's in no time. "Tell me, Stenton, how's your GPA." My dad said casually after asking the waiter for the wine menu. I could fee Stent stiffen next to me, "My GPA's doing just fine, sir." He said just as causally. I could tell he was uncomfortable talking about his grades.

"Do you have a job, Stenton?" My mom asked putting down her menu smiling at Stenton. At least she was trying to be nice. "No, ma'am. I'm trying to focus on school, and get my grades up." He said smiling back at my mom. She nodded obviously approving of his answer. My dad looked down and adjusted his solid gold cuff links, "Do you play sports?" Stenton paused before her answered, "Well, I rock-climb, skateboard, surf, and occasionally mountain bike." He said not breaking eye contact with my dad.

"So you don't play any team sports?" My dad asked as if because Stent didn't play on a team he was some selfish cad. "Not for my school, no sir. But I can play pretty much any sport; I've always been really athletic." Before my father could answer the waiter returned to take our orders. To be honest I can't even remember what I got, I was too nervous to eat anything anyways.

"Who's your pick for the world cup?" My father asked leaning back in his chair. I could feel the tension between boyfriend and father building up steadily. Stent cleared his throat, "I've got to say England. I've always been partial to their team." My father scoffed, "They haven't won in twelve years!" Stent shrugged grinning mischievously, "They're doing remarkably well this year... I just have a feeling... who's your pick?" My dad answered without hesitation, "Brazil. Who's your basketball team?"

"The Spurs."

"Football?"

"The 49ers"

"Baseball?"

"Pirates"

"Tennis?"

"Tennis is for pansies."

Silence followed. Stent and my dad kept eye contact for exactly twelve seconds. Then something totally unexpected happened: My dad smiled. "You're right there." Suddenly the tension lifted even for a fraction of a second, but just as quickly as his smile came my dad's smile left his face. "I don't like you." He said suddenly.

"Zach!" My mother exclaimed. I was too shocked to say anything; my dad had promised to behave. Stent gave a small smile, "If it's any consolation, I always eat cheerios." Leave it to Stent to make me laugh in a terrible situation. My mother smiled as well. I could tell she wanted to laugh, but wouldn't because my dad was obviously not impressed by Stent's little joke. "_I_ don't even eat cheerios, and I hate liars." He said his voice dripping with venom.

"I'm not a liar."

"We'll see about that."

Stent held my hand firmly underneath the table, "By the way sir, now that we're being candid with each other... There's no way in hell that Brazil stands a chance at the World Cup this year." My dad raised an eyebrow almost like he was amused. Suddenly he leaned forward on the table. My heart started racing I could see the spy in my dad beginning to come out, "You climbed into my daughter's bedroom window, why?"

Mental Note: _Never bring your boyfriend dinner when your parents are spies... It's a terrible idea._

"I wanted to talk to her." Stenton said not breaking under the pressure. My dad snorted, "I highly doubt you had a lot of talking in mind!" My father said harshly, I was surprised he managed not to raise his voice. Stenton shook his head, "That's what's bugging you, isn't it?" He said almost like he thought it was funny. I prayed to God that Stenton wouldn't laugh, right now there was no telling what my father would do, and I really wanted my date to get through this meal alive. My dad leaned further on the table, "Damn straight, that's what's bugging me!" Stenton leaned back in his chair, "What can I say, sir, that will get you to believe that I have only honest intentions for your daughter."

"Honest intentions. Oh so you haven't kissed her?"

"DAD!" I exclaimed shocked at his bluntness. My mother choked on her water, but I wasn't sure if it was because she was shocked or because she was laughing. Stent shrugged, "With all due respect sir, that's none of your business." Stent said cutting me off. I could have sworn my dad went purple. "None of my business? You're talking about my daughter, it is my damn business."

"I'm sitting right here!" I snapped. Stent grabbed my hand underneath the table, I squeezed back for support. "I'm fifteen, dad! Kissing is not a big deal." My dad changed from purple to white. My mom put a hand on his shoulder, "Zack, she's right. I had my first kiss when I was fifteen." She said in a low voice. My dad shook his head, "I'm not against kissing, but they've had what? One date? Two tops. I know boys like Stent, hell, I was one of them. He's not dating our daughter. Come on, He's failing American History. How do you fail American History?"

It was Stent's turn to squeeze my hand, "I think Ev can make her own decisions on who she dates. And how the hell do you know I'm flunking History." Great, dad, way to stick with our cover. I wanted to crawl under the table and stay there forever. My dad however didn't blink an eye, he even chuckled a little. "Do you think I'm going to let just anyone date my daughter without doing a backup check?" I was boiling with anger.

"You did a backup check." Stent's hand lost its grip on mine, but I don't think it was on purpose. His face had gone pale. He and my father were staring at each other. I could see a glint of triumph in my dad's eyes, like he'd finally broken Stent. Now, I was just really confused. My dad took a sip out of his wine before saying, "I know your whole life story Stent, did you think I really wouldn't?" Something was going on. The way they were looking at each other, it reminded me of that conversation I had with my grandmother in her office when she was asking about Stent. They were talking about something, but I had no idea what it was.

Stent recovered holding my hand firmly again, "You had no right to do that." He said his voice quiet, but there was a dangerous undertone that almost scared me. The corner of my dad's lip twitched, "You keep on saying things like that. But not only do I have the right, I have the obligation. It's my daughter's hand you're holding under that table." I resisted the urge to kick my dad, he was letting too much of the spy out.

The waiter came with our food and began to set down the plates. Nobody even looked at their food. My father and Stenton were just staring at each other. I felt like one of them might begin swinging fists at any moment. Even the waiter seemed to notice. Stent let go of my hand and stood up, "I'm sorry, but I'm no longer hungry." He threw his napkin on the table.

"Don't go." I said instinctually. He leaned down and kissed me on the cheek, "Sorry. I'll see you tomorrow." He nodded stiffly to my father and then smiled at my mom, "Thank you for your time; I really do appreciate the gesture." And he left. My eyes started to brim with tears. Not because Stent was leaving, but because my dad had been so cruel to him.

"Ev, don't cry." My dad said his voice softening. I looked up at him, "You know. I'm not hungry either." I said standing up. My dad's face hardened, "He's just a boy, Ev." I turned around, "Maybe he is, but he means a lot to me." My dad opened his mouth but no sound came out. "You know, I think I' m going to walk home." I turned around and kept walking. I braced myself for my father to call after me, but he didn't. So, I just walked straight out of that restaurant.

I expected to cry more, but once I was in the open air I felt tons better. The sun was just setting and the world looked aglow in a contrast of gold light and growing shadows. I kicked a pebble into the road and began the familiar walk back to Gallagher Mansion. Ahead of me just about to turn the corner I saw Stenton riding his skateboard.

"Stent!" I called out. He screeched to a stop and the sound of his name and almost fell off of his board. If he wasn't so adorable it would have been a really lame move. Once he saw that it was me that called his name he grinned and skated up the sidewalk towards me, "Hey, are you alright?" He asked hopping off of his board once he was close enough to speak normally. I shrugged, "Aside from dying from complete embarrassment, I'll live."

Stent laughed and scratched the back of his neck sheepishly, "Listen... I'm sorry if I lost my temper with your dad..." I shook my head, "_I _lost my temper with my dad. He's just..."

"Protective over you?" Stenton offered. I nodded, "Very." Stenton picked up his board with one hand and slid his other into mine, "At least he cares. My mother's been in Europe for the past three months and she hasn't bothered to send me a postcard... or a phonecall." I leaned my head against his shoulder, "Nobody's perfect." I muttered more to myself than anybody else. He kissed my forehead, "Yes. But I doubt I'll ever get on your father's good after tonight."

I laughed bumping his shoulder with mine, "Well, I think I can decide who stays and goes for myself. And by the way I never did that great in American History either." Okay. Maybe that part about being bad at American History was a bit of a lie, but it just sort of came out. "I want to make it up to your family. Once your dad gets used to the fact that we are actually dating, we can try dinner again. I'll be nicer."

"Well I can't promise that I'll be any nicer, but as long as your there I won't mind trying again." Stent turned to me his eyes completely serious. "I'm serious, Ev. I want to make this right with your dad." I got chills as he slid his hands onto my waist. I straightened his tie as I said, "You're a good guy, Stenton West." He pulled me closer, "Well, you're worth it, Evelyn Goode." He pressed his forehead against mine and I could feel his breath warm against my mouth. I stood up on my tip toes and pressed my lips softly against his.

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**And that concludes chapter... thirteen? I think. lol! Anyways, I really enjoyed writing this one. Please, review it really does inspire me to keep writing! And critique's are just as appreciated, I do truly take what you have to say to heart. As long as you're not a flamer or anything. Haha**

**XOXO Windy D.  
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	14. Dancing With Joe

**Wow... It's been like literally almost a year since I last updated. (_Slight_ exaggeration) But still... Where has the time gone? I have no idea. Anyways, if anyone is still reading this... Here's sort of a lame filler chapter. The thing is, I know exactly where this story is going, I'm simply not sure how to get it there. But I feel like it may be beginning to take shape in my mind. Anyways, here it is. ;]  
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"And it's step _hop_ one two three! Step _hop_ one two three!" Mrs. Pin sang to us as we danced around the room. Joe was my partner and was currently playing the part of boy. We glided easily together, being spies both Joe and I were naturally graceful. Some girls had trouble applying our hard earned grace to music, but thank God Joe and I weren't girls like that. I tried to hold in my laughter as Bry's partner Arial, stepped on her foot for the fifth time.

"Sometimes I wonder how Arial got into this school." I said under my breath. I knew it wasn't the nicest thing to say, but Arial wasn't exactly the best _spy_. She reminded me of Aunt Liz, a mind rivaling Einstein, but two left feet. Joe shrugged, "Her dad was a civilian." She said logically. I snorted, "Joe, your dad is a civilian, and I don't see you messing up the foxtrot." I could feel Joe stiffen as we danced she missed a hop, but quickly recovered.

"Only biologically." She said curtly. She looked at my forehead determined not to make eye contact. _Oh __Joe,__ what__ happened__ that __made__ you __the __way __you__ are?_ I questioned internally as we danced. "Have you talked to your parents?" Joe asked suddenly. I winced at the change of topic, "No. I saw them at breakfast, but I'm not in a talking mood."

"And _dip_!" Mrs. Pin queued to us. Joe dipped me easily I resisted the urge to laugh at how ridiculous it was to be in a room full of girls dipping each other. Bry's partner dropped her on the floor. Joe and I made eye-contact and I gave up resisting the urge to laugh. We giggled together our bodies shaking as we tried to keep our laughter to ourselves. The bell rang and Joe and I immediately stopped dancing.

"Remember ladies, stay on your toes!" Mrs. Pin sang as we all booked it for the door. Bry popped up next to me, "Next time you dance with the spy who couldn't." She said under her breath. I checked over my shoulder to make sure that Arial was out of ear shot, "Not nice, Bry." I said in a harsh whisper. She huffed, "Maybe so, but my ass is definitely going to be bruised after this." Joe and I laughed.

"I wonder what's for lunch." Joe mused aloud as we headed towards the Cafeteria. Bry did a series of front walk-overs down the stairs as Joe and I jogged to keep up. "Good question." She said stretching out from her gymnastics, "I'm famished."

"Ev!" I stopped cold as the voice of my father called me out of the crowd. Bry squeezed my hand before moving on with the other girls to lunch. My father was alone wearing simple Jeans and a button down. He looked surprisingly normal unlike of the intimidating business shark he looked like last night.

I stuffed my hands into my pockets and walked towards him, "Hi." I said looking down at my shoes. I could tell he was feeling just as awkward as I was, "I'm sorry." We said in unison. I looked up into his eyes and we both started laughing. I closed the gap between us and he wrapped his arms around me. I pressed my face against his chest. He smelled like mint, "I shouldn't have blown up at you like that." I said pulling away.

My dad chuckled, "I shouldn't have blown up at _him_like that. It's just that... you're extremely important to me, Ev. Before I met your mother I was a terrible boy. I'm ashamed to say that I broke several hearts. Stent reminds me of myself, and I don't want you to be just another girl he's chased after." I shook my head, "Dad... Stent isn't like that. I know I've said that before but... He's sweet, he's kind, and really funny. I can't explain it, it's like we just fit dad. From the moment we met we just felt right... it _feels_ right, dad."

For a moment I could have sworn my dads eyes misted over. He pulled me into another hug, "Just promise me one thing, Evie." I ignored the fact that he used a nickname I hadn't heard since I was about eleven, "I'll try." I said not wanting to agree before I knew what he was about to say. My dad sighed, he was obviously having trouble putting this into words. He grasped both my hands in his and looked me in the eye, "When you're with Stent, don't let go of your inner spy. Not for a moment."

I let go of his hands, "Dad..." I said shaking my head. How could I make him understand, "I don't think I can do that..." My dad frowned. I spoke quickly before he could say anything, "Stenton makes me feel like a normal girl. When I'm with him I'm not a spy, I'm just Evelyn Goode." My dad actually chuckled, "You do realize that saying that you're a Goode and _not_ a spy is a bit of an oxymoron." I laughed covering my face with my hands, "Ahhh." I groaned remembering how wonderful it felt to be on good terms with my dad.

My dad put his arm around my shoulder and lead me to a bench that he and I both knew was actually an exit from a secret room that you could only get into from outside. We sat down and he said, "Okay. Tell me what you were gong to say." He said getting a little more serious. I sighed, "Stenton makes me feel like a normal girl. Something I've never felt in my whole life, dad. I don't have to worry about anything when I'm around him. If I'm with Stenton I feel... safe. I don't have to be a spy, because nothing bad can happen when we're together."

"No." My dad sternly. I looked up at him afraid of another bad confrontation. But he looked more sad than angry, "No, Ev. You cannot let go of your spy, especially when you're around him." There was something going on, something with Stenton. Why wasn't he telling me? He found something when he was digging up dirt on Stent, "Dad. What were you and Stent talking about when you said you knew his whole life story." My dad smiled sadly, "I can't tell you Evelyn. I _technically_ don't even have clearance to know about it."

Wow, my dad _not_ having clearance for something. It must really _really_ terrible. But Stenton couldn't have _done_ anything, or else he probably wouldn't be alive right now. I nodded slowly, "Alright. Alright, dad. I will not let go of my spy." It killed me to say it, and it'd be hard; things were obviously bad, I had to do it." My dad hugged me again, "You have no idea how good that makes me feel." I nodded. _You__have__no__idea__how__awful__this__makes__me__feel._

"Ev, we've been at this for _hours_. Maybe your dad just made it up to keep your guard up because he doesn't trust Stent." Bry said rubbing her neck as she took a break from staring at her computer screen. I sighed, as much as I didn't want to admit it we were getting nowhere.

I leaned back pushing my computer away. Bry and I both looked up at Joe hopefully, "I can't. I'm sorry, the firewall is too fast. Maybe if I can create a program that will think for me, so that I don't have to do it manually I could break in. But that'll take me a month to complete." I collapsed on my bed completely exhausted and discouraged. We'd been trying to learn more about Stenton's past for the past three hours. Bry had broken into his e-mail and i-phone records. I felt too intrusive doing that so I resorted to digging up dirt on both of his parents. Joe was attempting to break into the NSA database, but so far it was a no go.

I stared at the ceiling trying to think of something else we could do. Bry stood up and started one of her ridiculous stretch routines, "Ev, don't worry about it. Like you said, if it was something bad that Stenton actually did your dad would have taken him out." I groaned, "What part of that sentence is supposed to make me feel better?" I asked wanting to chuck my laptop out of the window.

Joe finally closed her laptop gently, "Ev. Maybe you should cool it with Stent for a while. I mean, just for safety." I rolled my eyes, "No, Joe. I'm not going to stop seeing him. You can't tell me that I'm remaking my moms mistakes. Everybody knows that we're going out, I don't lie to him, my parents are okay with it... for the most part. We are legitimate, get used to it."

Bry winced, but Joe just stared at me. She almost looked disgusted, "Evelyn, he's a _civilian._" She said quietly. That was it. I was tired of this, of her, of her attitude, of everyone trying to tell me that I shouldn't be with Stenton, "Joe," I said my voice rising, "Just because your parents had a terrible relationship doesn't mean that every civilian has the plague!" I yelled at her. Bry gave me an, _you__ shouldn__'__t __have__ said__ that_ look, but I didn't care. I was sick and tired of Joe's attitude.

"Good look getting into the NSA files." She said picking up her laptop and walking out of the room. She slammed the door behind her. Bry sighed and headed for the door, "You're leaving too?" I asked knowing that my voice was week and shaky. I could feel that lump growing hard in my throat. "I'm on your side, Evelyn. But Joe's hurting." I started shaking, "_I__'__m_ hurting, Bry!" She nodded, "But I know _why_ you're hurting. Something is wrong with Joe and we have no idea what it is." She said turning the doornob.

"Fine, go." I snapped feeling my eyes start to burn. Bry sighed, "I'm sorry, I'll be back in a little bit." I nodded and the second the door closed behind her I began to cry. I felt stupid, insignificant, insensitive, and unsupported. And worst of all, I felt selfish, something was going on with Joe and I hadn't even tried to get it out of her. Do boys always make you this confused?

**Annnnnd, that's all. It's a bit short... at least from what I remember of the length of my old chapters. Buuut if you're still reading here's a huuuge THANK YOU! And please, review. What do ya'll thinks wrong with Joe? **

** XOXO, Windy**


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